FREDERIC 


I.C-NRLF 


735 


;44P 


THE  OLD  FIRST 


THE  OLD  FIRST 

Massachusetts   Coast  Artillery 

IN 

War  and   Peace 


By 

FREDERICK  MORSE  CUTLER,  B.D. 
First  Lieutenant,  Chaplain 


THE  PILGRIM  PRESS 

BOSTON  CHICAGO 


,: 


COPYRIGHT  1917 
BT  FREDERICK  MORSE  CUTLER 


First  Edition,  March  21,  1917 
Second  Edition,  April  30,  1917 


THE  PILGRIM  PRESS 
BOSTON 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    The  Coast  Artillery  -------  1 

II.     1784-1840    -      -      -                           -      -      -  12 

III.  1840-1861 31 

IV.  Responding  to  the  President's  Call  46 
V.    The  Fighting  First 58 

VI.     1866-1878 -      -  80 

VII.    The  Old  "Tiger  "First  -      -      -             -      -  89 

VIII.    "The  Cape" 112 

IX.    Since  1878 127 

X.     Finally 152 

APPENDIX  I.  Genealogy  of  the  Coast  Artillery — The 

Present  Companies — Their  Captains     -      -      -  157 

APPENDIX  II.    Bibliography 174 

INDEX 179 


434873 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Our  First  State  Camp,  Neponset,  1849    -      -     Frontispiece 

OPPOSITE  PAGE 

The  Train-Band,  1832.    Why  It  Was  Abolished  ?      -  26 

Artillery  in  1917       - 34 

Artillery  in  1784       ---------  34 

Maj.  Poore  Pays  His  Bet 40 

The  South  Armory,  Boston 70 

Fort  Monroe  in  1861 70 

The  Fusiliers  About  1845 90 

The  Gray  Uniform  —  The  City  Guards  at  Baltimore, 

1844     -------  -      -  96 

The  Author 144 

Col.  E.  Dwight  Fullerton 144 

Col.  George  F.  Quinby  --------     144 

Modern  Battery       ---------     154 

The  Chaplain  in  Action,  1916      -      -      -      -      -      -154 


THE  OLD  FIRST 


THE   OLD   FIRST 

CHAPTER   I 
THE   COAST   ARTILLERY 

When  Chaplain  Minot  J.  Savage  first  listened  to  the 
"March  of  the  First,"  inspiration  fired  his  soul;  the  music 
was  repeating  a  message  to  him.  Was  there  something  in 
the  brazen  voice  of  the  horns,  a  magical  harmony  of  sound 
with  sense ;  or  was  it  merely  the  loyal  Chaplain's  imagina- 
tion ?  At  any  rate  this  is  what  he  heard : 

"  We're  brothers  of  all  noble  men, 
Who  wear  our  country's  blue, 
We  brothers  find  in  any  race, 

Where  men  are  brave  and  true. 
But  we've  a  pride  in  our  own  band, 

And  we  are  all  agreed, 
Whatever  grand  deeds  others  do, 
The  '  Old  First '  still  shall  lead. 

So  while  our  feet  keep  music  time, 

Our  hearts  are  proudly  beating 
An  echo  to  Man's  forward  hope 
That  never  knows  retreating." 

And  now,  whenever  "Adjutant's  call"  sounds  and  the  com- 
panies move  into  line  with  the  precision  and  rhythmic  swing 
characteristic  of  well-trained  troops,  they  also  hear  the  mes- 
sage which  was  written  down  for  them  by  the  Chaplain  many 
years  ago,  "The  Old  First  still  shall  lead."  They  hear  and 
believe. 


'The  Old  First 


Today  '.jt  foe<}oipes  the  privilege  of  another  Chaplain  to  set 
forth  in  this  little  book  the  reasons  why  the  Old  First  be- 
lieves in  itself.  We  shall  see  how  the  present  grows  out  of 
a  long  and  noble  past.  Back  in  Civil  War  times  observers 
noted  that  the  regiment  was  one  to  be  proud  of ;  there  was 
a  large  proportion  of  sensible,  solid  men  who  enlisted  be- 
cause it  seemed  duty,  whose  patriotism  was  not  silly  or  vul- 
gar, but  strong  and  serious.  Today  likewise  the  Inspector 
General  reports  that  the  personnel  is  unexcelled;  only  men 
of  good  character  are  enlisted;  standards  are  very  high. 
And  for  the  largest  part  the  men  are  not  in  the  service  for 
any  personal  profit  to  themselves — there  is  too  little  pay  to 
make  money  the  attraction.  They  are  soldiers  at  the  sacri- 
fice of  their  own  leisure,  and  often  of  their  comfort.  A 
modern  National  Guardsman  is  averse  to  boasting  or 
heroics — he  is  the  most  matter-of-fact  citizen  of  all.  But 
surely  the  Chaplain  will  be  pardoned  for  saying,  what  the 
Guardsman  would  be  most  reluctant  to  claim,  that  in  the  old 
regiment  patriotism  is  not  a  matter  of  words,  it  is  made  up 
of  deeds. 

Massachusetts  looks  in  large  degree  to  the  command  for 
the  coast  defence  of  Boston.  America's  center  of  wealth 
and  manufacturing,  the  Commonwealth  holds  the  key  to  the 
whole  country.  Within  a  radius  of  two  hundred  miles  from 
Boston  is  manufactured  practically  every  kind  of  supply 
and  equipment;  while  New  York,  the  world's  center  of 
wealth  and  finance,  is  only  slightly  more  than  two  hundred 
miles  away.  To  possess  Massachusetts  would  afford  hostile 
invaders  the  best  possible  base;  the  Coast  Artillery  is  an 
essential  factor  in  the  defence  of  Massachusetts. 

Coast  artillery  affords  the  most  magnificent  team-sport  in 
the  world.  Three  officers  and  sixty-seven  men  work  to- 
gether in  firing  the  twelve-inch  rifle,  and  each  contributes 


The  Coast  Artillery 


something  essential  to  the  success  of  the  shot.  Twelve 
inches  is  the  bore  of  the  rifled  gun ;  forty-two  or  more  feet 
the  length;  $45,000  is  the  cost,  and  the  carriage  represents 
an  investment  of  $40,000  more.  It  is  loaded  with  three  hun- 
dred twenty-five  pounds  of  powder,  and  a  projectile  weigh- 
ing more  than  half  a  ton,  costing  upwards  of  $150,  and  suf- 
ficient in  itself  to  destroy  a  hostile  warship.  The  target,  the 
moving  target,  at  which  the  shot  is  fired,  floats  on  the  water 
at  a  distance  of  eight  to  sixteen  miles ;  and  without  the  use 
of  powerful  glasses  is  all  but  invisible.  Range  and  direc- 
tion (azimuth)  are  determined  by  a  combination  of  most 
delicate  scientific  observing  instruments.  Now  the  great 
gun  swings  majestically  into  place.  "Fire !"  A  concussion 
follows  as  if  many  railroad  trains  were  coupling — mighty, 
stunning.  Then  ensue  seconds  of  eager  watching  from  the 
battery,  but  not  many  such;  for  the  projectile  travels  twice 
as  fast  as  sound  itself.  Up  spouts  a  column  of  sea  water 
beside  the  target.  A  hit.  And  this  will  be  repeated  once  per 
minute  until  the  enemy  is  put  out  of  action. 

Camping,  shooting,  gymnastics,  hiking,  fencing,  horse- 
back-riding, and  even  boating  and  aviation  all  enter  into  the 
training  of  the  Coast  Artilleryman.  Opportunity  is  given  to 
learn  much  of  mechanical,  electrical  and  engineering  science. 

On  its  lighter  side  military  life  includes  balls,  parades, 
dinners,  theater-parties,  smokers,  and  the  annual  January 
athletic  games.  Once  in  four  years  there  is  a  trip  to  the 
inauguration  at  Washington;  lesser  excursions  occupy 
some  of  the  intervening  time.  Most  valuable  of  all  are  the 
life-long  friendships  formed  by  men  who  stand  side  by  side 
in  the  service  of  the  country.  These  endure  and  keep  warm 
after  all  else  is  forgotten. 

The  better  soldier  a  man  learns  to  be,  the  better  citizen  he 
makes  himself.  Such  training  in  team-work  is  of  priceless 


The  Old  First 


value;  this  service  has  become  a  passport  to  business  suc- 
cess, and  today  there  is  no  better  recommendation  for  em- 
ployment. Civil  Service  commissioners  recognize  the  en- 
hanced usefulness  of  the  trained  soldier  by  according  him 
preference  in  government  appointments. 

Six  of  the  companies  come  from  stations  outside  of  Bos- 
ton,— Brockton,  Cambridge,  Chelsea,  Fall  River,  New  Bed- 
ford and  Taunton  being  represented.  Even  more  truly  than 
the  Boston  companies  these  organizations  offer  advantages 
of  the  greatest  value;  each  is  the  pride  of  its  own  home  city; 
each  ranks  amongst  the  leading  social  bodies  in  its  com- 
munity; and  the  armories,  all  fine  structures,  are  popular 
club  houses. 

Altho  it  may  be  hard  to  "live  up"  to  the  responsibilities 
of  a  noble  ancestry  and  one  is  ever  open  to  the  unkind 
suggestion  that  his  best  is  like  the  potatoes,  "under  ground," 
still  it  is  not  the  fault  of  a  man,  nor  of  an  organization,  if 
the  record  of  the  past  contains  worthy,  and  even  heroic, 
passages.  Not  only  is  the  Coast  Artillery  the  surviving 
heir  to  most  of  Boston's  finest  militia  traditions  and  honors, 
but  by  the  consolidation  of  1878  it  also  inherits  the  proud 
record  of  the  Third  Regiment,  the  militia  force  of  Pilgrim- 
land  and  the  Cape.  Even  a  more  modest  organization  than 
this  would  be  excused  for  feeling  thrills  when  it  remembers 
"auld  lang  syne";  and  the  gentle  reader  will  peruse  these 
pages  in  vain  if  he  fails  to  see  why. 

Some  day  the  command  will  establish  a  military  museum 
of  its  own,  in  which  to  display  its  trophies  and  relics.  Its 
battle-flags  have  mostly  passed  out  of  its  reach  and  are  irrev- 
ocably in  the  possession  of  the  Commonwealth.  When  one 
visits  the  Hall  of  Flags  and  gazes  reverently  upon  the  tat- 
tered silk  banners  of  the  ist  Infantry,  five  in  number,  the  3d 
Infantry,  two  of  them,  the  24th  Infantry,  two,  the  42d  In- 


The  Coast  Artillery 


fantry  and  the  43d  and  the  44th,  two  each,  and  in  the  Span- 
ish War  case  the  two  colors  of  the  ist  Heavy  Artillery, 
seventeen  flags  in  all,  one  may  possibly  remember  that  a 
Massachusetts  Coast  Artilleryman  would  be  whispering  to 
himself,  "Those  are  our  battle-flags."  And  there  are  many 
other  colors  in  the  cases,  under  which  members  of  the  com- 
mand fought  during  the  Civil  War — those  of  the  4th,  5th, 
6th,  1 3th,  29th  Infantry  Regiments,  and  the  4th  Heavy 
Artillery. 

Indeed  the  sole  battle-flag  remaining  from  the  Mexican 
War,  that  of  the  ist  Mass.  Volunteer  Infantry,  may  be 
claimed  as  a  Coast  Artillery  trophy,  since  it  was  given  by 
those  who  had  borne  it  into  the  custody  of  the  veterans  who 
made  up  the  National  Guards,  the  Qth  Co.  of  Coast  Artillery. 
The  National  Guards  eventually  surrendered  this  color  to 
the  Commonwealth.  No  less  a  personage  than  Gen.  Win- 
field  Scott  had  been  the  original  donor  of  the  flag. 

In  some  unexplained  manner,  three  colors  carried  by  the 
ist  Infantry  during  the  Civil  War  escaped  the  State  col- 
lector, and  are  preserved  with  religious  care  at  the  South 
Armory.  They  are  the  American  flag  presented  by  former 
Boston  men  who  had  "gone  west"  and  there  organized  the 
National  Guard  of  San  Francisco,  a  blue  infantry  color  pre- 
sented in  1863  by  the  City  of  Boston,  and  a  white  State  flag 
retained  to  replace  a  lost  Commonwealth  color  presented  by 
the  people  of  Chelsea.  As  often  as  May  25  rolls  around, 
veterans  of  the  regiment  bear  these  flags,  together  with  the 
present  National  colors  of  the  command,  to  the  hall  where 
the  anniversary  dinner  is  held ;  and  under  the  sacred  silken 
folds  the  white-haired  warriors  renew  the  memories  of  Fred- 
ericksburg  and  Chancellorsville,  of  Gettysburg  and  Spotsyl- 
vania,  while  they  smack  their  lips  over  something  more 
savory  than  the  hard-tack  and  muddy  coffee  of  bygone  days. 


8  The  Old  First 


Last  winter  these  same  veterans  reviewed  the  Corps  in  the 
South  Armory.  As  they  came  marching  on  the  floor  under 
their  tattered  battle-flags  amid  deafening  cheers  from  hun- 
dreds of  onlookers,  strong  men  could  hardly  choke  back 
their  tears. 

Post  23,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Boston,  and  Post  35  of  Chelsea  pos- 
sess some  ist  Regiment  relics. 

Headquarters  will  contribute  to  the  regimental  museum 
the  sleeve  of  Drum  Major  James  F.  Clark's  coat,  with  its 
wonderful  collection  of  service-stripes  indicative  of  forty- 
one  years'  service.  Sergeant  Clark  died  in  office  in  1910. 
There  is  also  an  old  commission  in  a  frame  on  the 
Headquarters'  wall,  that  of  George  S.  Newell  as  Colonel 
of  the  ist  Reg.,  ist  Bri.,  ist  Div.,  dated  May  u,  1839, 
signed  by  John  P.  Bigelow,  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth ; 
and  the  warrant  of  Daniel  Horatio  Belknap  as  Quarter- 
master Sergeant  of  the  ist  Reg.,  3d  Bri.,  ist  Div.,  issued 
July  20,  1824,  by  Col.  Louis  Lerow.  Between  1831  and 
1834  the  Roxbury  Artillery  had  been  temporarily  attached 
to  the  ist  Reg.,  ist  Bri.,  but  in  Colonel  Newell's  day  we 
had  no  connection  at  all  with  that  organization ;  the  Fusiliers 
were  a  part  of  the  ist  Reg.,  3d  Bri.,  in  1824,  when  Sergt. 
Belknap  was  in  office. 

Partly  because  it  is  the  oldest  company,  and  partly  because 
it  has  always  been  made  up  of  men  who  "do  things,"  the  ist 
Company  possesses  by  far  the  finest  collection  of  historical 
valuables  of  all  the  regiment.  Indeed  fully  one-half  of  the 
regimental  museum  is  already  collected,  and  belongs  to  Capt. 
Joseph  H.  Hurney's  organization.  In  their  room  one 
sees  Capt.  J.  J.  Spooner's  original  commission  signed  in 
1784  by  Gov.  John  Hancock,  the  first  flag  carried  by  the 
company — a  flag  with  fourteen  stars,  the  complete  parch- 
ment roll  of  members  from  the  very  beginning,  a  drum 


The  Coast  Artillery 


which  helped  to  keep  up  the  company's  courage  at  Black- 
burn's Ford  and  Bull  Run,  specimen  uniforms  and  arms 
showing  the  development  of  military  skill  and  taste  during 
each  period  of  the  company's  history,  and  a  small  cannon 
captured  by  Washington  from  the  British  at  Yorktown  in 
1781,  and  at  Williamsburg  in  1862  taken  from  the  Con- 
federates by  a  company  of  ours. 

Shooting,  military  and  athletic  trophies  almost  without 
number  adorn  the  walls  of  Headquarters  and  of  each  com- 
pany room ;  but  these  can  hardly  be  included  in  a  regimental 
museum.  The  6th  and  7th  Companies  hold  Knox  trophies 
as  proof  of  their  preeminent  excellence  in  artillery  work, 
and  will  doubtless  resent  any  suggestion  of  contributing 
them  to  anyone  else;  certainly  other  companies  have  been 
trying  hard  enough  to  get  this,  and  have  not  succeeded  even 
for  a  single  year.  But  the  museum  will  have  the  2d  Com- 
pany's original  drum,  dated  1798,  and  with  it  the  first  flag. 
Their  most  valuable  possession  is  a  Stuart  oil  portrait 
of  their  "patron  saint,"  George  Washington.  The  same 
company  also  display  a  set  of  ancient  by-laws  inherited 
from  their  predecessor,  the  Independent  Light  Infantry, 
and  perhaps  also  a  set  of  their  ancient  breast-plates.  If 
more  is  demanded,  members  of  the  company  will  fill  their 
lungs  and  emit  the  old  "tiger"  yell  or  growl;  and  this  is 
certain  to  prove  sufficient  so  far  as  the  2d  Company  is  con- 
cerned. The  3d  Company  room  does  not  contain  much  of 
historical  interest.  Their  proudest  possession  is  an  entry 
on  the  records  of  the  Governor's  Council  dated  May  n, 
1787,  wherein  it  appears  that  a  petition  presented  by  Thomas 
Adams  and  fifty-three  others  was  granted,  and  that  a  mili- 
tary company,  the  Independent  Boston  Fusiliers,  was  for- 
mally established  in  the  eyes  of  the  law.  On  the  following 
Fourth  of  July  the  Fusiliers  received  their  charter  from 


io  The  Old  First 


Gov.  James  Bowdoin,  while  formed  on  the  slope  of  Bunker 
Hill,  and  forthwith  regaled  themselves  as  guests  at  the 
hospitable  table  of  Gov.  (to  be)  John  Hancock.  Maj. 
James  W.  H.  Myrick,  Commander  of  the  Fusilier  Veteran 
Association,  is  custodian  of  the  original  3d  Company 
records. 

We  shall  see  that  the  Coast  Artilleryman  has  reason 
for  singing  "The  Old  First  still  shall  lead";  but  the  his- 
torian faces  a  difficulty  when  he  essays  to  explain  who  the 
Coast  Artillery  are,  anyway.  Three  different  regiments  are 
consolidated  in  the  present  body — which  was  the  original? 
But  see,  what's  here!  The  regimental  museum  will  solve 
even  this  vexed  problem  of  genealogy.  A  resolve  by  the 
General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  duly  engrossed  and  framed, 
together  with  an  order  of  the  Council  approved  by  Gov. 
John  L.  Bates  on,  April  6,  1903,  not  only  certifies  that  the 
First  Regiment  of  Massachusetts  Volunteer  Militia  re- 
sponded to  the  call  of  the  President  of  the  United  States 
in  April,  1861,  for  troops  to  suppress  the  rebellion,  but  also, 
and  more  importantly  as  concerning  our  present  difficulty, 
that  the  First  Massachusetts  Heavy  Artillery  are  the  "suc- 
cessors" of  the  regiment  of  1861.  Blessings  upon  the  head 
of  the  man  whose  influence  secured  this  legislative  action! 
The  historian  may  tread  fearlessly  in  full  assurance  that 
the  Coast  Artillery  is  the  First  Infantry  of  Civil  War  fame, 
and  that  other  ancestry  is,  if  not  collateral,  at  least  not  in 
the  principal  line.  A  complete  genealogy  of  the  command 
will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  book. 

One  explanation  is  in  order  before  proceeding.  On  April 
25,  1842,  the  companies  were  designated  by  letter;  on 
Nov.  I,  1905,  they  ceased  to  be  designated  by  letter,  and 
were  numbered  in  order  of  charter-seniority.  Altho  all 
company  and  regimental  history  between  1842  and  1905 


The  Coast  Artillery  II 

was  recorded  in  terms  of  company  letters,  since  1905  the 
letters  have  rapidly  passed  into  oblivion;  and  today  have 
become  almost  entirely  forgotten.  For  the  purpose  of  inter- 
preting the  past  in  terms  intelligible  to  the  present,  it  seems 
best  to  translate  letters  into  numerals — to  speak,  in  other 
words,  of  the  ist  Company  rather  than  Company  or  Battery 
D.  And  now,  the  prelude  being  finished  and  the  audience  all 
having  visited  the  museum,  let  the  performance  go  forward. 


CHAPTER   II 
1784-1840 

A  group  of  men  were  assembled  in  the  living  room  of  a 
prosperous  looking  Roxbury  farmhouse  on  March  22,  1784. 
Altho  they  had  met  several  times  previously  during  the 
winter,  they  showed  by  both  word  and  bearing  that  they 
were  actually  engaged  in  transacting  their  most  important 
business  on  the  present  occasion.  General  William  Heath, 
owner  of  the  house,  presided.  As  everyone  in  Roxbury  well 
knew,  the  General  had  lately  returned  from  war,  where  he 
had  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  close  companionship  and 
friendship  with  no  less  a  person  than  the  commander,  Gen. 
George  Washington,  himself.  Another  of  the  company  was 
a  wealthy  young  merchant  of  Roxbury,  an  ex-Cadet,  John 
Jones  Spooner,  who  stood  in  the  relationship  of  son-in-law 
to  Gen.  Heath.  Amongst  others  were  Jonathan  Warner  and 
several  more  Revolutionary  veterans ;  also  two  prominent 
members  of  Roxbury  society,  Joseph  Pierpont  and  John 
Swift.  Well  might  these  men  look  important  for  they  were 
engaged  in  presiding  over  a  birth — the  birth  of  a  National 
Guard  company — today  the  oldest  National  Guard  company 
with  continuous  history  in  America. 

As  soon  as  the  company  had  been  born,  and  was  reported 
to  be  "doing  well,"  it  was  christened.  "The  Roxbury  Train 
of  Artillery"  was  inscribed  with  due  form  and  ceremony 
upon  the  first  page  of  its  record  book.  Who  was  then  suf- 
ficiently far-sighted  to  foresee  that  on  June  30,  1916,  the 
same  company  would  take  the  Federal  oath  as  the  "ist  Com- 
pany, Coast  Artillery  Corps,  National  Guard  of  Massachu- 


1784-1840  13 


setts"  ?  A  company  in  those  days  was  commanded  by  a  cap- 
tain with  the  rank  of  Major;  and  this  office  was  promptly 
conferred  upon  John  Jones  Spooner.  Jonathan  Warner 
became  the  "Captain-lieutenant,"  and  Joseph  Pierpont  and 
John  Swift  were  elected  the  other  two  lieutenants,  as  at 
that  time  authorized.  Warrants  were  issued  to  four  ser- 
geants; four  musicians  were  appointed,  twenty-four  men 
were  detailed  as  cannoneers,  eight  as  pioneers,  three  as 
drivers — and  when  two  brass  four-pounder  cannon  had  been 
issued  to  them,  the  Roxbury  Artillery  were  ready  for  any 
kind  of  a  fight  or  frolic.  It  was  not  to  be  until  Aug.  30, 
1849, tnat  Gen.  H.  A.  S.  Dearborn  would  suggest  the  famous 
motto  now  borne  by  the  Company,  "In  time  of  peace  prepare 
for  war."  No  one  can  question  however  but  that  the  senti- 
ment of  the  motto  has  always  controlled  ist  Company 
activities. 

Major  Spooner  subsequently  resigned  his  command,  was 
succeeded  by  Capt.  Warner;  and  himself  became  a  minister 
of  the  gospel. 

Those  were  the  days  immediately  following  the  Revolu- 
tionary war;  and  in  America  during  such  seasons  the  com- 
manding military  official  is  sure  to  be  "general  apathy." 
Owing  partly  to  the  absence  of  other  organized  companies, 
and  partly  to  the  skill  and  enthusiasm  of  the  Roxbury  men, 
the  Artillery  were  in  frequent  demand.  On  October  15, 
1784,  they  turned  out  to  fire  a  salute  in  honor  of  a  distin- 
guished visitor,  Gen.  Lafayette.  The  Boston  Train  of  Ar- 
tillery, afterwards  the  8th  Company,  came  into  existence 
May  7,  1785;  and  these  two  organizations  shared  the  honor 
of  escorting  the  Governor  and  members  of  the  General 
Court  on  July  4,  1785,  and  again  the  year  following.  The 
fact  is,  these  were  the  only  two  active  military  companies 
in  or  around  Boston  at  the  time.  On  one  of  these  occasions 


14  The  Old  First 


Gen.  Heath  noted  concerning  his  proteges  that  they  "made  a 
good  appearance  and  performed  their  exercises  well."  An 
army  travels  upon  its  stomach,  and  a  good  soldier  attends 
carefully  to  the  subsistence  part  of  his  work.  The  1st  Com- 
pany displayed  true  soldierly  instincts  by  including,  from 
the  very  beginning,  commissary  exercises  amongst  their 
other  activities, — in  other  words,  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
parade  "they  dined  together."  Music  was  furnished  for 
these  military  displays  by  the  only  band  then  in  Boston,  one 
consisting  of  Hessians  who  remained  behind  from  Bur- 
goyne's  army,  under  the  leadership  of  Frederick  Granger. 

Let  the  narrative  pause  a  minute  while  we  paint  in  a 
background  for  the  picture.  Do  we  understand  who  the 
militia  are?  Citizen-soldiers,  citizens  who  serve  as  soldiers 
when  necessary,  without  relinquishing  their  civil  occupa- 
tions, part-time  righting  men — such  have  always  been  the 
chief  reliance  of  free  peoples  when  it  becomes  necessary  to 
defend  their  territory  or  to  enforce  their  sovereign  will.  In 
British  dominions  this  military  force  received  the  name  of 
"train-band"  about  1600,  and  began  to  be  called  "militia" 
in  1660.  Moreover  their  service  was  both  compulsory  and 
universal — at  least  it  was  so  in  theory.  Each  citizen  was 
required  by  law  to  provide  himself  with  a  "good  musket  or 
firelock,  a  sufficient  bayonet,  and  belt,  two  spare  flints,  and 
a  knapsack."  Thus  armed  and  equipped,  he  was  expected 
to  present  himself  four  times  a  year  for  a  day's  training. 

It  is  customary  to  heap  ridicule  upon  the  militia.  Cowper 
described  "John  Gilpin"  as  a  "train-band  captain,"  and 
taught  us  to  laugh  at  him.  Yankee  Doodle,  with  its  "men 
and  boys  as  thick  as  hasty  puddin',"  is  a  parody  on  the 
American  militia.  In  truth  appearances  were  against  them 
in  the  olden  times.  Their  history  began  away  back  in  the 
days  when  military  costume  consisted  of  an  iron  hat  and  a 


1784-1840  i5 


steel  vest.  When,  about  1700,  armor  passed  out  of  use,  the 
militiamen,  to  prove  that  they  were  true  conservatives,  re- 
fused to  substitute  any  other  uniform  clothing.  Conse-. 
quently  they  did  not  look  soldierly.  But  the  Yankee  Doodle 
militia  under  Johnson  at  Lake  George  administered  a  sting- 
ing defeat  to  the  French  regulars.  We  have  been  abun- 
dantly taught  of  late  how  American  military  history  fairly 
bristles  with  evidence  that  the  militia  system  is  faulty.  So 
be  it.  Now  it  is  time  to  point  out  another  lesson  from 
the  same  history,  namely,  that  when  American  militia  have 
fought  under  favorable  conditions,  with  some  shelter,  and 
with  an  auspicious  beginning  to  the  action,  they  have  often 
manifested  a  valor  that  makes  the  world  marvel,  a  valor 
unequalled  except  in  the  annals  of  legendary  warfare. 

This  militia  existed,  in  1784,  thruout  Massachusetts  (and 
Maine)  as  nine  divisions  of  approximately  five  thousand  men 
each.  The  first  division  was  stationed  in  Boston.  And,  alas ! 
all  divisions  were  temporarily  inactive. 

The  oldest  volunteer  militia  company  in  England,  as  well 
as  its  "ancient"  daughter  in  America,  have  as  part  of  their 
title  the  word  "Honorable."  Militia  rendered  such  military 
service  as  the  law  demanded.  Volunteer  militia  went  be- 
yond this,  and  in  addition  uniformed  themselves  at  their 
own  expense,  drilled  frequently,  and  held  themselves  in 
readiness  for  parades  and  ceremonies,  and,  in  sterner  vein, 
for  disturbance  of  the  peace  and  for  war.  As  the  basis  of 
every  volunteer  army  our  country  raised  was  found  the  or- 
ganized, volunteer  militia.  No  wonder  that  esteem  and  dis- 
tinction have  attached  to  this  service.  Since  1908  the  force 
has  borne  the  title,  "National  Guard,"  a  name  going  back 
to  the  citizen  soldiery  who  defended  Paris  in  1789  and  who 
were  commanded  by  Lafayette,  a  name  brought  to  this  coun- 
try in  1824  by  Lafayette  himself  and  then  first  adopted  by 


16  The  Old  First 


the  N.  Y.  7th  Reg.,  and  in  1862  taken  by  all  the  organized 
militia  of  that  state,  in  1903  extended  thruout  the  United 
States,  and  in  1916  officially  substituted  for  all  other  titles 
in  Massachusetts. 

Why  was  it  necessary  for  the  Roxbury  men  to  organize 
their  company?  Could  not  the  U.  S.  regular  army  afford 
America  sufficient  protection  in  1784?  Regular  army!  So 
far  as  Congress  could  control  the  matter,  there  was  no  regu- 
lar army  in  1784.  A  determined  effort  had  been  made  the 
year  previous  to  wipe  the  force  entirely  out  of  existence, 
to  muster  out  every  Continental  remaining  over  from  the 
Revolutionary  war.  Thru  some  oversight  one  single  com- 
pany, that  formerly  commanded  by  Alexander  Hamilton  and 
now  "Battery  F  of  the  3d  Field  Artillery,"  had  escaped. 
Perhaps  because  they  were  standing  guard  over  valuable 
stores  at  West  Point  and  elsewhere,  perhaps  because  the 
mustering-out  officer  ran  short  of  blank  forms — for  some 
unexplained  reason  one  company  survived.  This  single 
company  constituted  the  entire  U.  S.  army  in  1784.  This 
one  company  is  the  only  military  organization  in  America 
having  continuous  existence,  which  antedates  the  Massachu- 
setts Coast  Artillery.  Moreover  the  situation  was  only 
slightly  better  later.  In  1787  there  were  only  1,200  regulars, 
in  1798,  2,100,  and  at  the  opening  of  the  Civil  War,  with  a 
national  area  almost  equal  to  the  present,  less  than  10,000. 
Were  not  Gen.  Heath  and  the  Roxbury  men  justified  in 
taking  steps  to  strengthen  the  forces  of  government  ? 

If  we  may  now  resume  the  narrative,  we  note  that  the 
Dorchester  Artillery,  the  4th  Company,  was  organized  in 
1786.  Material  was  preparing  out  of  which  the  future  regi- 
ment might  be  built. 

1786  and  1787  were  years  of  threatening  and  storm  in 
Massachusetts.  In  consequence  of  the  war,  people  found 


1784-1840  17 


themselves  burdened  with  debts  and  taxes.  They  com- 
plained that  the  Governor's  salary  was  too  high,  the  senate 
aristocratic,  the  lawyers  extortionate,  and  that  the  courts 
were  instruments  of  oppression,  especially  in  the  collection 
of  debts.  By  way  of  remedy  they  demanded  the  removal 
of  the  General  Court  from  Boston,  the  relief  of  debtors,  and 
the  issue  of  a  large  amount  of  paper  money.  Daniel  Shays, 
an  ex-captain  of  the  Continental  army,  placed  himself  at 
the  head  of  a  movement  to  secure  these  ends  by  force,  and 
his  effort  has  come  down  thru  history  as  "Shays'  rebellion." 
In  December,  1786,  he  appeared  at  Springfield  with  one 
thousand  insurgents,  resolved  to  break  up  the  session  of  the 
supreme  court.  After  forcing  the  adjournment  of  the  ses- 
sion, the  insurgents  directed  an  attack  against  the  arsenal  in 
Springfield.  Meanwhile  the  State  government  had  sent  Gen. 
Benjamin  Lincoln,  at  the  head  of  four  thousand  militia, 
amongst  whom  were  included  our  artillery  companies,  to 
suppress  the  disorder;  and  on  Jan.  25,  1787, — six  days  after 
leaving  Boston, — the  troops  arrived  in  season  to  beat  off  the 
insurgent  attack.  Shays  and  his  followers  were  pursued)  as- 
far  as  Petersham,  where  on  Feb.  9  all  armed  resistance  was 
crushed  out  and  the  insurgents  captured  or  dispersed.  Since 
there  was  such  abundant  ground  for  this  discontent,  it  is 
pleasing  to  know  that  the  "rebels"  were  all  pardoned,  and 
Shays  himself  finally  awarded  a  pension  for  his  Revolution- 
ary services.  Improved  economic  conditions  due  to  the  new 
Federal  constitution  soon  removed  all  danger  of  such  dis- 
order in  the  future.  Please  note,  however,  that  winter  cam- 
paigning in  western  Massachusetts  is  by  no  means  an  at- 
tractive holiday  experience,  and  that  the  members  of  the 
command  who  engaged  in  this,  the  first,  active  service, 
manifested  the  same  plucky  devotion  to  duty  as  has  char- 
acterized them  ever  since. 


1 8  The  Old  First 


When  in  1788  the  new  United  States  constitution  was  rati- 
fied, Boston  felt  moved  to  celebrate  the  event.  Gen.  Ben- 
jamin Lincoln,  who  commanded  the  train-band  division  in 
the  city,  investigated  and  found  that  he  had  eight  uniformed 
companies  amongst  his  militia  organizations.  So  the  eight 
were  directed  to  parade.  The  Dorchester  Artillery  were  not 
present ;  but  the  Roxbury  and  Boston  companies  had  promi- 
nent places  in  the  procession.  There  were  three  other  com- 
panies present,  infantry  companies,  which  would  have  inter- 
ested anyone  gifted  with  prophetic  foresight.  For  just 
ninety  years  from  that  time,  the  three  infantry  companies 
were  destined  to  unite  with  the  two  artillery  in  forming 
the  ist  Regiment  of  today.  Meanwhile,  unconscious  of  the 
future,  they  are  all  parading  in  honor  of  the  new  Federal 
government;  watch  them.  Grave,  dignified  men  they  are. 
And  no  wonder ;  for  they  are  the  social  and  political  leaders 
of  Boston-town.  No  one  could  hope  for  election  to  office  in 
those  days  unless  he  had  "done  his  bit"  in  the  militia.  They 
wore  the  Continental  uniform,  with  cocked  hats,  blue  coats 
having  ample  skirts,  and  white  knickerbockers.  In  their 
movements  they  were  majestic,  slow,  deliberate;  seventy- 
five  steps  per  minute  were  considered  amply  sufficient.  It 
was  not  until  1891  that  their  hustling  offspring  completed 
the  process  of  raising  the  military  cadence  to  one  hundred 
twenty  per  minute,  with  a  pace  thirty  inches  long.  For 
weapons  they  carried  smooth-bore  flintlocks,  which  the  dic- 
tionary tells  us,  were  known  as  snaphaunces  or  "fusils," 
whence  we  have  the  term,  "fusiliers."  The  musket  was 
furnished  by  the  State,  and  was  the  only  part  of  the  equip- 
ment so  provided.  Never  mind  if  they  were  not  very 
deadly, — they  at  least  looked  formidable.  Our  artillery 
companies  drew  their  cannon  from  the  "gun-house"  on  the 
common ;  contrast  this  rough  shed  with  the  South  Armory 


1784-1840  19 


of  today !  After  the  martial  exhibition  was  concluded,  our 
forefathers  betook  themselves  to  the  "Green  Dragon/'  or  the 
"Bunch  of  Grapes,"  or  the  "Exchange  Coffee  House  "  where 
coffee  was  by  no  means  the  limit,  or  some  other  popular 
tavern,  for  the  military  exercises  which  constituted  the 
climax  of  the  entire  day. 

A  clear  distinction  existed  between  militia  and  volunteers 
in  the  foot  branch  of  the  service,  the  volunteers  being  desig- 
nated fusiliers  or  grenadiers  or  light  infantry  or  rifles  or 
cadets,  and  the  militia  being  known  as  infantry.  But  the 
distinction  was  obscured  in  the  "train  of  artillery."  So 
much  of  technical  qualification  was  required  of  the  artillery- 
man and  cavalryman  that  all  companies  of  such  troops  had 
to  meet  the  higher  military  standards  of  volunteers  and  were 
so  classified.  In  such  rosters  as  existed,  it  was  customary 
to  print  the  names  of  company  officers  of  artillery  and  cav- 
alry, while  such  lists  included  only  field  officers  in  foot  com- 
mands. 

First  mention  of  a  battalion  of  artillery  appears  in  the 
roster  of  the  ist  division  for  1790,  when  the  four  companies 
in  Boston,  Dorchester,  Middlesex  and  Roxbury  are  so  des- 
ignated. No  field  officer  had  yet  been  commissioned.  This 
is  the  beginning  of  the  Coast  Artillery,  the  battalion  and 
regimental  organization  having  continued  in  unbroken  exist- 
ence from  1789  to  the  present  time.  While  under  every 
militia  law  ever  adopted  by  Congress,  not  only  the  ist  Com- 
pany but  also  the  command  as  a  larger  unit  might  claim 
"ancient  privileges"  on  the  ground  of  continuous  organiza- 
tion thruout  these  decades,  it  is  just  and  right  to  state  that 
the  pride  of  the  "Old  First"  has  always  been  not  to  claim 
any  privilege  at  all,  except  that  of  serving  wherever  and 
however  it  could  be  of  the  most  use.  At  this  date  no  bat- 
talion organization  existed  amongst  the  volunteer  foot  com- 


20  The  Old  First 


panics,  each  being  an  "independent"  divisionary  corps  of 
infantry. 

October,  1789,  our  companies  were  again  in  line,  this  time 
to  receive  and  escort  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
George  Washington.  In  October,  1793,  a  sadder  duty  sum- 
moned them  forth.  John  Hancock,  patriot,  signer  of  the 
declaration  of  independence,  Governor  of  Massachusetts, 
and  President  of  the  Continental  Congress,  had  finished  his 
long  and  noble  career  and  gone  to  his  rest.  Boston  loved 
and  honored  its  chief  citizen;  the  funeral  parade,  in  which 
our  companies  participated,  was  an  expression  of  heart-felt 
grief.  The  companies  were  again  called  out  on  July  4th, 
1795,  to  help  lay  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  State-house, 
the  famous  "Bulfinch  front." 

War  clouds  began  to  darken  the  political  sky  in  1794, 
war  clouds  generated  by  the  titanic  struggle  between  the 
French  and  their  enemies  thruout  Europe.  Controversies 
had  been  going  on  between  us  and  both  parties  to  the  great 
European  conflict;  now  this  particular  danger  threatened 
from  the  French  side.  Altho  most  Americans  had  sympa- 
thized with  the  French  in  their  revolutionary  struggle,  had 
worn  tri-colored  cockades  and  clamored  for  a  French  alli- 
ance, now  French  colors  disappeared  from  view,  men  wore 
black,  and  "Hail  Columbia,"  with  "independence"  for  its 
"boast,"  became  the  popular  song.  As  soon  as  America 
found  itself  involved  in  the  threatened  storm,  Congress  be- 
gan to  take  measures  for  defence  and  turned  its  attention 
to  the  militia.  It  is  only  in  war-time  that  Congress  can  be 
induced  to  notice  the  citizen-soldiers.  A  law  was  passed 
May  9,  1794,  directing  the  states  to  organize  active  regi- 
ments of  militia  and  to  prepare  for  eventualities.  No  action 
seems  to  have  resulted  from  this  first  legislation ;  and  as  the 
foreign  danger  intensified,  a  second  act  was  passed  in  1797, 


1784-1840  21 


aiming  to  render  the  former  law  effective.  Following  the 
classical  preferences  of  the  times,  the  U.  S.  army  had  been 
rechristened,  in  1792,  the  "legion."  Each  state  must  now 
organize  a  "legion"  of  its  own.  80,000  was  the  figure  set  for 
the  total  strength  of  this  force ;  and  it  is  significant  of  Mas- 
sachusetts' relative  standing  that  the  Commonwealth  was 
directed  to  furnish  11,885  of  the  total — more  than  any  other 
state. 

Massachusetts,  on  June  6,  1794,  directed  commanders  of 
train-band  divisions  to  draft  men  from  their  brigades  who 
should  hold  themselves  in  instant  readiness  for  service,  as 
the  "minute-men"  of  1775  had  been  selected  and  organized. 
The  great  prestige  of  George  Washington,  for  he  had  con- 
sented to  waive  his  seniority  and  to  serve  as  Lieut-General 
under  Pres.  Adams,  helped  to  render  this  revival  of  the 
minute-men  popular,  and  the  fashionable  designation  of 
"legion"  did  not  detract  from  its  popularity. 

On  August  22,  1797,  a  supplementary  order  was  issued, 
directing  that  a  special  regiment  of  such  "legionaries"  should 
be  formed  from  the  militia  of  each  divison.  The  number  of 
divisions  having  increased  to  ten,  this  called  for  ten  regi- 
ments of  active  troops  in  Massachusetts  and  Maine. 

While  the  order  ostensibly  affected  the  entire  Common- 
wealth, in  point  of  fact  the  only  legionaries  ever  organized 
were  in  Boston.  Brig.-Gen.  John  Winslow,  a  soldier  of  en- 
ergy and  ability,  in  civil  life  a  hardware  dealer,  was  com- 
missioned to  command  the  "legionary  brigade"  of  Boston, 
and  during  the  ten  years  of  his  incumbency  the  legion  was 
so  vital  a  factor  in  the  city's  military  life  that  it  became  a 
fixture.  Winslow's  legionary  brigade  was  organized  in  1799, 
just  as  the  war  scare  subsided.  It  consisted  of  legionary 
cavalry  (one  troop),  a  sub-legion  of  light  infantry  made  up 
of  two  independent  companies  (the  Fusiliers  and  the  Bos- 


22  The  Old  First 


ton  Light  Infantry),  and  a  sub-legion  of  artillery  made  up 
of  the  Boston  and  Columbian  companies,  now  fully  organ- 
ized as  a  battalion  under  Maj.  Daniel  Wild.  The  Roxbury 
and  Dorchester  companies  did  not  join  the  legion,  and  now 
completed  a  battalion  organization  under  Maj.  James  Rob- 
inson and  were  designated  the  "Battalion  of  Artillery,  ist 
Brigade,  ist  Division."  These  two  battalions,  one  within 
and  the  other  without  the  legion,  represent  a  splitting  up  of 
the  1789  battalion.  On  June  4,  1844,  these  two  battalions, 
numbered  ist  (the  legionary)  and  2d  (the  old  ist  Brigade 
battalion)  were  to  consolidate  in  the  5th  Regiment  of 
Artillery. 

The  legionary  brigade  lasted  as  long  as  Gen.  Winslow 
continued  in  command.  Its  cavalry,  light  infantry  and  artil- 
lery sections  continued  to  thrive;  and  in  1802,  under  the 
energetic  leadership  of  Lt.  Col.  Robert  Gardner,  succeeded 
in  1804  by  Thomas  Badger,  a  regiment,  consisting  of  three 
sub-legions  of  infantry,  each  commanded  by  a  major,  came 
into  existence.  In  the  artillery  sub-legion,  Maj.  Wild  was 
succeeded  by  Maj.  John  Bray  in  1803,  and  by  Maj.  O. 
Johonnot  in  1805.  Meanwhile  the  ist  Brigade  battalion  of 
artillery  was  commanded  by  Maj.  Robinson.  In  1808  Gen. 
Winslow  retired;  and  in  1809  the  legionary  brigade  was  re- 
designated  "3d  Brigade,  ist  Division."  Its  three  sub-legions 
of  infantry  became  three  infantry  regiments,  and  these,  as 
we  shall  see,  contained  companies  destined  later  to  form 
part  of  the  Coast  Artillery.  The  sub-legion  of  artillery 
became  known  as  the  "Battalion  of  Artillery,  3d  Brigade," 
commanded  by  Maj.  Johonnot,  in  1812  by  Maj.  Nathan 
Parker,  and  in  1813  by  Maj.  William  Harris.  Maj.  James 
Robinson  was  succeeded  as  commander  of  the  ist  Brigade 
battalion  by  Maj.  John  Robinson  in  1812,  and  the  latter  in 
1814  by  Maj.  Isaac  Gale,  formerly  Captain  of  the  Roxbury 


1784-1840  23 


Artillery.  The  3d  Brigade  rendered  one  distinguished  ser- 
vice to  the  city  of  Boston — it  brought  out  and  maintained 
Asa  Fillebrown  as  leader  of  the  brigade  band.  The  3d  Brig- 
ade continued  to  be  the  most  prominent  element  in  Boston's 
militia  until  the  reorganization  of  1840. 

No  doubt  the  French  war-scare  and  the  formation  of  the 
legionary  brigade  stimulated  militia  development  in  Massa- 
chusetts. The  Columbian  Artillery,  the  6th  Company,  was 
organized  June  17,  1798;  and  the  Washington  Artillery,  the 
7th  Company,  on  May  29,  1810.  Happily  the  war  clouds 
dissolved  without  doing  serious  damage  to  America.  Mean- 
while the  two  battalions  of  artillery  turned  out  to  greet  and 
receive  President  John  Adams  on  the  occasion  of  his  visit 
to  Boston. 

Between  the  years  of  1810  and  1819  and  intermittently 
until  1855,  Massachusetts  state  rosters  contain  a  curious 
entry,  "The  Soul  of  the  Soldiery."  While  one  could  scarcely 
guess  the  fact,  this  was  a  predecessor  of  the  modern  "train- 
ing school"  for  officers,  and  was  maintained  by  the  non- 
commissioned officers  of  all  companies  connected  with  the 
Legionary  or  3d  Brigade.  No  wonder  that  the  Massachu- 
setts militia  excelled  the  corresponding  force  in  other  states, 
with  such  a  spirit  stirring  the  breasts  of  the  enlisted  men. 

By  1812  America  did  find  itself  involved  in  actual  war. 
Statesmen  had  been  laboring,  and  laboring  successfully,  for 
nearly  a  score  of  years  to  keep  us  at  peace  with  France. 
Meanwhile  circumstances  conspired  to  stir  up  hostilities  with 
France's  great  enemy ;  and  almost  before  men  could  realize 
the  possibility  of  such  a  thing,  we  were  engaged  in  the  sec- 
ond war  with  England. 

This  is  no  place  to  discuss  the  cause  of  the  struggle; 
Boston's  artillery  companies  shared  the  sentiment  of  their 
section  and  regretted  the  condition  of  affairs.  The  war  was 


24  The  Old  First 


unpopular  in  New  England.  But  the  members  of  the  artil- 
lery companies,  being  soldiers,  did  "not  reason  why"  and 
did  put  themselves  into  an  attitude  of  preparedness. 

Weeks  ensued  which  men  would  be  glad  to  forget.  Regi- 
ments of  regulars  were  enlisted  in  Boston  and  transported 
to  the  Canadian  frontier  as  part  of  the  successive  invading 
forces.  After  the  lapse  of  months  word  came  back  of 
American  defeat,  of  the  incompetence  displayed  by  un- 
trained American  officers,  of  hundreds  of  British  putting 
to  flight  thousands  of  Americans.  Boston  itself  lay  open  to 
hostile  attack,  with  fortifications  mostly  in  ruins,  and  such 
as  there  were,  ungarrisoned.  Then  came  the  naval  victories 
won  by  our  gallant  frigates,  and  Massachusetts  breathed 
more  freely.  The  enthusiasm  which  was  craving  an  oppor- 
tunity for  expression  found  vent  in  ovations  to  victorious 
sailors.  During  the  first  two  years  of  hostilities  no  attack 
was  made  against  the  New  England  coast,  and  we  now  know 
that  England  deliberately  refrained  because  of  the  friendly 
sentiments  of  the  New  England  people. 

The  year  1814  brought  a  great  change  in  the  situation. 
England  had  downed  Napoleon,  and  was  at  liberty  to  em- 
ploy her  mammouth  resources  in  dealing  with  enemies  else- 
where. Massachusetts,  because  it  was  part  of  America,  and 
more  particularly  because  its  harbors  served  as  a  base  of 
operations  for  the  American  navy,  was  to  feel  the  conse- 
quences of  war.  Invasion  commenced  in  Maine  and  threat- 
ened to  roll  southward  down  the  coast;  immunity  was  at 
an  end;  and  an  attack  was  actually  made  on  Gloucester. 
Gov.  Caleb  Strong  waited  as  long  as  he  dared,  expecting  the 
Federal  Government  to  take  the  steps  necessary  for  defend- 
ing our  coast.  When  it  finally  became  evident  that  Wash- 
ington had  its  hands  full  elsewhere  and  could  do  nothing  for 
Boston,  Gov.  Strong  acted. 


1784-1840  25 


As  the  service  was  to  be  guard  duty  and  the  erecting 
of  fortifications,  and  was  likely  to  continue  thru  an  in- 
definite number  of  months,  larger  units  of  the  militia  were 
not  called  out  as  such.  No  regiment  went  as  a  whole.  It 
seemed  better  to  draft  companies,  platoons,  and  even  squads. 
A  guard  was  maintained  at  Chelsea  bridge  to  keep  off  raid- 
ing parties.  After  Sept.  8,  1814,  all  militia  organizations 
were  held  in  readiness ;  and  between  that  date  and  Novem- 
ber, when  the  British  fleet  finally  sailed  away,  every  mem- 
ber of  the  five  artillery  companies  gave  some  weeks  to  active 
service.  Fort  Independence  on  Castle  Island  and  Fort 
Warren  on  Governor's  Island,  small  works  of  brick  and 
earth,  constituted  Boston's  principal  defences;  these  were 
garrisoned,  and  put  in  repair.  How  tremendously  modern 
ordnance  out-ranges  that  of  a  century  ago!  The  present 
Fort  Warren,  on  Georges  Island,  erected  in  1850,  is  today 
not  nearly  far  enough  from  the  city  it  defends,  not  far 
enough  out  at  sea;  neither  is  its  armament  as  long-ranged 
as  it  should  be.  Yet  contrasted  with  the  earlier  Fort  War- 
ren, it  is  very  remote  from  Boston,  and  is  armed  with  guns 
able  to  do  execution  at  almost  infinite  distance.  The  Com- 
monwealth added  to  the  defences  of  the  harbor;  land  was 
purchased  on  Jeffries  Point,  East  Boston,  and  another  fort 
erected  to  support  Independence  and  Warren.  The  legis- 
lature, out  of  compliment  to  the  Governor,  named  the  new 
work  Fort  Strong.  Here  too  one  must  be  careful  not  to 
confuse  the  old  fort  with  that  of  the  same  name  today  on 
Long  Island. 

Historians  agree  in  pronouncing  the  militia  a  failure  in 
the  second  war  with  England.  It  must  be  confessed  that 
there  is  much  ground  for  such  a  verdict;  in  fact,  the  regu- 
lar army  was  also,  for  the  most  part,  a  sad  failure  in  the 
same  war.  But  in  all  fairness  an  exception  should  be  made 


26  The  Old  First 


of  the  Massachusetts  militia  which  manned  the  coast  de- 
fences of  Boston  and  kept  the  British  fleet  outside  the  har- 
bors of  the  state.  The  Roxbury  Artillerymen  and  their  com- 
rades in  sister  companies  were  prompt  in  responding, 
efficient  in  "digging"  and  other  military  labor,  and  entirely 
vigilant  in  guard  duty.  Their  service  in  1814  goes  far  to 
render  the  name  of  militia  honorable. 

One  moment  of  relaxation  came  during  the  war  when  the 
battalions  paraded  in  Boston  as  escort  to  President  James 
Madison. 

The  year  1815  marked  a  turning  point  in  American  mili- 
tary history,  and  the  artillery  companies  of  Boston  felt  its 
influence.  Danger  from  foreign  foes  was  at  an  end;  the 
Indians  were  then  so  far  to  the  westward  as  no  longer  to 
be  a  serious  menace.  America  felt  free  to  enter  upon  a 
career  of  peaceful  conquest — and  to  get  rich.  It  is  fair  to 
note  that  England  also  began  a  similar  stage  at  the  same 
time;  perhaps  there  was  some  reflex  influence  exerted  by 
the  mother  country.  The  first  symptom  of  the  change  was 
the  decay  of  the  train-band.  Whereas  militia  service  had 
hitherto  been  regarded  seriously,  as  the  most  important  duty 
of  citizenship,  now  men  laughed  at  it.  We  begin  to  find 
reference  to  the  "corn-stalk"  militia. 

Decay  was  gnawing  at  the  vitals  of  the  train-band  system. 
Ridiculous  cartoons  may  be  seen  in  the  museum  of  the  A.  & 
H.  Art.  Co.  (Matthews'  "Militia  Folk"  and  others)  showing 
what  a  farce  the  institution  had  become.  Men  attended 
muster  in  outrageously  improper  clothing,  armed  with 
sticks,  pitchforks,  or  nothing  at  all,  and  obviously  treated 
this  aspect  of  their  patriotic  duty  as  a  gigantic  bit  of  buf- 
foonery. Quarterly  training  or  muster-day  became  an  occa- 
sion more  noted  for  the  rum  then  consumed  than  for  the 
drilling  done.  Early  temperance  societies  recognized  this 


1784-1840  27 


state  of  affairs  by  including  in  their  abstinence  pledges  an 
exception  in  favor  of  muster-day ;  it  was  not  "intemperate" 
to  be  drunk  then.  In  our  forefathers'  opinion  this  gradual 
abandonment  of  compulsory  universal  military  service  was 
regarded  as  a  mark  of  social  progress.  Will  such  be  the 
ultimate  verdict  of  history  ? 

Increased  importance  attached  to  the  Roxbury  Artillery 
and  other  volunteer  companies  as  the  train-band  became  in- 
creasingly inactive.  Let  us  inspect  them,  bearing  in  mind 
that  they  are  now  the  chief  military  reliance  of  the  Common- 
wealth. Discipline,  judged  by  modern  standards,  may  not 
have  been  strict.  Men  came  and  went  pretty  much  at  will. 
But  they  had  some  discipline,  while  their  fellow-citizens  did 
not  know  what  the  word  meant.  No  "basic  course  for  of- 
ficers" as  yet  existed,  and  it  is  a  fact  that  the  higher  officers 
were  apt  to  be  chosen  more  for  political  than  military  rea- 
sons. As  the  rank  increased,  the  military  attainments  were 
apt  to  diminish;  but  amongst  the  company  officers  were 
found  many  brave  and  skilful  soldiers.  Uniform  fashions 
had  been  modified  by  the  recent  war — now  companies  wore 
the  shako  on  the  head,  at  first  of  leather  and  later  of  bear- 
skin, the  high  buttoned  swallow-tail  coat,  white  webbing 
cross-belts  with  brass  breast-plates,  and  long  trousers.  Each 
company  had  a  distinctive  uniform  of  its  own,  as  different 
as  possible  from  all  others ;  and  this  diversity  persisted  even 
down  until  after  the  Civil  War.  It  was  a  column  of  com- 
panies, and  judging  from  appearances,  of  extremely  "sepa- 
rate" companies,  that  paraded  to  escort  and  welcome 
Lafayette  in  April  and  again  on  August  30,  1824;  and  to  lay 
the  corner-stone  of  Bunker  Hill  monument  in  1825 ;  and 
to  inter  President  John  Adams  in  July,  1826;  and  for  the 
funeral  of  Gov.  William  Eustis.  An  enthusiastic  reception 
was  accorded  by  these  companies  to  President  Andrew 


28  The  Old  First 


Jackson,  June  24,  1833.  These  soldiers  may  not  have  been 
as  efficient  as  modern  troops  must  be;  but  they  made  a 
splendid  appearance  on  parade;  and  beyond  question  were 
a  powerful  military  asset  when  judged  by  the  standard  of 
their  own  times. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  increase  efficiency  by  issuing 
books  of  drill  regulations  available  for  all,  instead  of  de- 
pending upon  oral  instruction.  In  the  earliest  days  drill  was 
regulated  by  Prussian  and  French  systems  of  tactics.  The 
first  book  of  tactics  ever  prepared  in  English  for  general 
popular  issue  was  written  and  published  in  1813  by  Gen. 
Isaac  Maltby  of  the  Massachusetts  militia,  for  the  use  of 
Massachusetts  troops.  The  necessity  for  conciseness  and 
speed  was  not  then  recognized.  For  a  battalion  to  pass 
from  line  to  close  column,  the  drill  regulations  of  1911  in- 
dicate commands  as  follows:  "Close  on  first  company, 
March,  Second  company,  Squads  right,  column  half  right, 
March."  Under  Maltby's  system  this  was  heard:  "Bat- 
talions will  form  close  column  of  platoons  on  the  right,  in 
rear  of  the  first  platoon,  Shoulder  arms,  Battalion,  Form 
close  column  of  platoons  in  rear  of  the  right,  Right  face, 
March.'*  Scott's  famous  tactics  were  adopted  in  1834. 

Maj.  Joseph  E.  Smith  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the 
3d  Brigade  battalion  of  artillery  in  1817,  Maj.  Thomas  J. 
Lobnell  in  1823,  Maj.  Samuel  Lynes  in  1826,  Maj.  Aaron 
Andrews  in  1830,  and  Maj.  Horace  Bacon  of  Cambridge  in 
1832.  By  June  29,  1834,  the  battalion  had  grown  to  four 
companies,  and  was  for  a  year  elevated  to  the  dignity  of  a 
regiment.  John  L.  White,  the  popular  proprietor  of  the 
Union  House  (29  Union  St.),  was  made  Colonel,  and  thus 
became  the  first  man  ever  to  hold  that  rank  in  the  Coast 
Artillery.  Col.  White's  military  career  had  been  meteoric ;  in 
1831  he  was  elected  Cornet  (2d  Lt.)  of  Light  Dragoons  in 


1784-1840  29 


the  3d  Brigade;  1832  saw  him  Major  of  the  ist  Infantry  in 
the  same  brigade;  in  1834  he  became  Colonel  of  that  regi- 
ment; and  ten  weeks  later,  on  the  date  given  above,  he 
transferred  and  was  commissioned  Colonel  of  the  new  artil- 
lery regiment.  However  the  time  was  not  yet  ripe  for  regi- 
mental dignity.  When  a  few  months  later  Col.  White 
removed  from  Boston  and  resigned  his  command,  the  organ- 
ization was  allowed  to  slip  back  and  again  become  a 
battalion.  Maj.  John  Hoppen  commanded  in  1836.  On 
April  24,  1840,  the  battalion  was  awarded  the  number  "ist." 
In  1841  William  B.  Perkins  was  elected  Major,  the  last  man 
to  command  it  as  a  separate  organization. 

Meanwhile  the  ist  Brigade  battalion  was  commanded  by 
the  following  Majors:  1818  Joseph  Hastings  of  Roxbury, 
1822  Robert  Stetson  of  Dorchester  (an  ex-Captain  of  the 
ist  Company),  1825  John  Parks  of  Dorchester,  and  1829 
Jonathan  White,  Jr.,  of  Weymouth.  In  1831  the  strength 
of  the  battalion  was  reduced  from  three  to  two  companies, 
and  these  were  temporarily  attached  to  an  infantry  regi- 
ment (the  ist  of  the  ist  Brigade).  On  June  26,  1834,  the 
battalion  organization  was  restored,  a  new  company  having 
been  formed,  with  John  Webber,  an  ex-Captain  of  the  ist 
Company  as  Major.  Maj.  John  W.  Loud  of  Weymouth 
was  elected  to  command  in  1836,  and  Maj.  Webber  again 
in  1839.  On  April  24,  1840,  the  battalion  was  numbered 
"2d."  In  1841  Samuel  F.  Train  of  Roxbury  was  elected 
Major,  the  last  man  to  command  the  battalion  as  a  separate 
organization.  Capt.  John  Webber  was  succeeded  as  com- 
mander of  the  ist  Company  by  Andrew  Chase,  Jr.,  a  man 
destined  to  become  first  Colonel  of  the  new  regiment.  That 
year  the  battalions  paraded  in  celebration  of  the  completion 
of  Boston's  new  railroad. 

All  the  companies  were  called  out  June  n,  1837,  to  main- 


30  The  Old  First 


tain  public  order  at  the  time  of  the  Broad  Street  riot.  The 
outbreak  arose  from  a  clash  between  a  funeral  procession 
and  a  fire-engine  company.  Which  ought  to  have  the  right 
of  way?  Unfortunately  racial  jealousy  was  present  to  em- 
bitter the  rivalry,  so  that  blows  were  exchanged  and  a  gen- 
eral fire-alarm  "rung  in"  and  disorder  became  widespread. 
First  honors  on  this  occasion  belong  to  the  newly  organized 
National  Lancers,  whose  horses  terrified  the  rioters;  in- 
fantry and  artillery  companies  acted  as  reserve,  and  subse- 
quently policed  the  district. 

This  period  of  Corps  history  came  to  its  conclusion  when 
on  March  24,  1840,  the  legislature  voted  a  general  reorgan- 
ization of  the  militia,  and  in  particular  disbanded  the  ancient 
train-band.  In  theory,  the  members  of  the  artillery  bat- 
talions had  been  excused  from  the  compulsory  drill  done  by 
every  able-bodied  man  in  their  districts  on  the  ground  that 
they  were  rendering  more  than  the  prescribed  military  ser- 
vice in  their  volunteer  organizations.  In  fact,  the  district 
companies  and  regiments  of  the  train-band  had  long  since 
ceased  to  do  any  true  drilling  and  were  little  more  than  a 
mere  name.  Courage  is  required  to  abate  a  long-standing 
abuse.  New  York  continued  to  endure  the  train-band  sys- 
tem until  1862,  well  into  the  Civil  War.  Massachusetts 
faced  the  condition  with  greater  determination,  and  abol- 
ished the  system  in  1840.  On  March  24  the  law  was  enacted, 
and  on  April  17  the  necessary  orders  issued.  Thereafter 
the  volunteer  companies  were  the  only  military  force  exist- 
ing in  the  Commonwealth. 


CHAPTER  III 
1840-1861 

Gen.  William  Henry  Harrison  had  been  elected  President 
in  1840  at  the  conclusion  of  one  of  the  most  exciting  political 
contests  ever  known  in  America.  A  month  after  assuming 
office,  in  April,  1841,  he  suddenly  died.  Public  feeling  which 
had  been  so  stirred  over  the  election,  now  reacted ;  and  men 
everywhere  vied  with  one  another  in  expressing  heart-felt 
sorrow.  Amidst  circumstances  of  deep  gloom,  intensified 
by  bad  weather,  the  battalions,  in  the  very  midst  of  the  con- 
fusion attendant  upon  their  reorganization,  made  a  funeral 
parade  notable  for  its  sadness.  It  was  not  until  July,  1862, 
that  the  regiment  again  came  in  touch  with  Harrison ;  then 
they  were  stationed  at  his  birthplace,  Harrison's  Landing 
on  the  James  River,  Virginia.  And  greatly  did  they  enjoy 
their  days  of  rest  after  the  torture  of  the  Chickahominy 
swamp,  and  the  opportunity  to  use  plenty  of  clean,  fresh 
water  for  bathing;  possibly  some  of  the  older  soldiers 
remembered  the  obsequies  of  April  22,  1841. 

June,  1843,  was  a  red-letter  period  in  Boston  history. 
Bunker  Hill  monument  was  at  last  completed  after  eighteen 
years  building,  and  a  vast  concourse  of  people  assembled 
for  its  dedication.  The  New  York  7th  Regiment,  then 
known  as  the  "National  Guard  Battalion,"  arrived  on  the 
1 6th,  and  was  received  and  entertained  by  the  Fusiliers. 
Indeed  troops  were  present  from  four  outside  states — 
Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Rhode  Island  and  New  York.  That 
same  day  the  artillery  battalions  met  President  John  Tyler 
at  Roxbury  Crossing,  and  escorted  him  to  the  Tremont 


The  Old  First 


House,  the  parade  taking  place  amidst  a  drenching  rain- 
storm. The  morning  of  the  i/th  was  clear,  cool,  and  de- 
lightful. At  an  early  hour,  the  military  part  of  the  proces- 
sion, which  consisted  of  four  grand  divisions,  was  formed 
on  Boston  Common.  As  the  procession  moved  toward 
Bunker  Hill,  the  enthusiasm  which  was  produced  by  the 
admirable  appearance  of  the  troops  was  only  equalled  by 
that  which  greeted  the  distinguished  Webster,  the  gifted 
orator  of  the  day ;  while  President  Tyler,  in  melancholy  con- 
trast, was  received  with  ominous  silence  and  coolness. 
Arriving  at  Bunker  Hill,  the  orator  of  the  day  and  the  guests 
and  officials  passed  into  the  already  crowded  square.  While 
Webster  was  speaking,  the  soldiers  were  necessarily  far 
beyond  the  sound  of  his  voice,  and  were  entertained  by  "a 
bountiful  collation,"  which  the  hospitable  authorities  of 
Boston  had  prepared.  After  the  ceremonies,  oratorical  and 
gustatory,  the  procession  returned  to  Boston,  and  the  troops 
were  reviewed  by  the  President  at  the  State  House.  At  a 
dinner  the  same  evening  in  Faneuil  Hall,  President  Tyler 
gave  the  following  toast: — "The  Union, — a  union  of  pur- 
pose, a  union  of  feeling,  the  Union  established  by  our 
fathers."  A  few  years  later,  he  was  an  active  enemy  of 
that  Union,  which  he  had  complimented  in  the  most  solemn 
manner  within  the  sacred  walls  of  the  Cradle  of  Liberty. 

Boston's  division  of  the  force,  thereafter  to  be  known  as 
the  Massachusetts  Volunteer  Militia,  paraded  in  two  bri- 
gades, with  a  total  strength  of  2,500  men.  Incidentally  we 
might  note  that  there  were  two  other  such  divisions  in  the 
state.  Under  the  circumstances  the  ist  and  2d  Battalions 
of  Artillery  added  to  their  already  creditable  reputation 
and  presented  a  fine  appearance.  There  were  five  companies 
in  the  two  battalions,  each  consisting  of  a  captain,  two  lieu- 
tenants, four  sergeants,  four  corporals,  six  gunners,  six 


1840-1861  33 


bombardiers,  one  drummer,  one  fifer,  and  sixty  four  privates 
or  "matrosses."  Part  of  each  company  was  armed,  equipped 
and  drilled  as  infantry;  but  each  company  proudly  exhib- 
ited two  bronze  six-pounder  cannon  with  limbers,  and  a 
single  caisson.  The  ordnance  had  increased  in  caliber  since 
1784,  the  change  being  made  in  1840.  The  state  prescribed 
by  law  what  manner  of  uniform  the  artillery  companies 
should  wear.  Inasmuch  however  as  the  members  had  to 
purchase  their  own  clothing  without  state  assistance,  and 
since  they  were  mostly  interested  in  the  glory  of  their  own 
companies,  they  were  pardonable  for  regarding  the  regula- 
tion state  uniform  as  merely  a  point  of  departure  from 
which  fancy  might  soar  in  devising  distinctive  costumes  for 
the  company  units.  Caps,  short  jackets,  and  frock  coats, 
soon  to  become  popularized  as  a  result  of  the  Mexican  War, 
were  beginning  to  be  in  vogue. 

The  year  1844  marked  a  still  more  important  step  in  the 
development  of  the  artillery  battalions.  Train-band  com- 
panies of  each  district  had  always  been  organized  into  regi- 
ments, and  the  regiment  was  conceded  to  be  the  fundamental 
unit  in  importance.  It  was  the  tactical  unit,  that  is,  the 
troops  maneuvered  as  regiments  when  in  the  presence  of 
an  enemy.  It  was  also  the  administrative  unit,  in  the  sense 
that  all  records  and  reports  centered  at  regimental  head- 
quarters. In  drill  regulations,  the  regiment  was  called  a  bat- 
talion ;  but  no  battalion  could  claim  to  be  a  regiment  unless 
it  had  approximately  ten  companies,  and  was  commanded 
by  a  colonel;  one  thousand  was  the  membership  standard. 
In  other  words  the  regiment  was  the  only  complete  battalion. 
When  the  train-band  ceased  to  be,  the  battalions  of  artillery 
began  to  aspire  after  regimental  dignity  in  the  Volunteer 
Militia.  The  ist  Battalion  had  actually  been  a  regiment  for 
a  few  months,  ten  years  previously.  Nor  was  it  forgotten 


34  The  Old  First 


that  the  two  battalions  were  originally  one,  that  the  regi- 
mental consolidation  to  be  was  really  a  reunion  of  those 
who,  forty-six  years  before,  had  been  a  single  body.  On 
June  4,  1844,  their  wish  was  gratified;  and  the  5th  Regiment 
of  Artillery  came  into  being.  With  the  promotion  on  June 
24  of  Andrew  Chase,  Jr.,  to  the  colonelcy  the  new  organiza- 
tion was  completed. 

Economy  reigned  in  the  Adjutant  General's  office  of  that 
day,  and  the  state  did  not  feel  that  it  could  afford  much 
expenditure  for  printing.  Our  earliest  rosters  come  from 
1858,  and  we  are  unable  to  name  many  of  the  distinguished 
men  who  made  up  the  5th  Regiment  at  its  inception.  It 
contained  five  companies:  1st,  the  Roxbury  Artillery;  4th, 
the  Dorchester  Artillery ;  6th,  the  Columbian  Artillery ;  7th, 
the  Washington  Artillery;  and  8th,  the  Boston  Artillery. 
Since  all  excepting  the  Dorchester  company  were  strong 
organizations  with  established  reputations,  the  regiment, 
from  the  very  beginning,  became  the  most  distinguished 
military  body  in  the  city  and  state.  In  recognition  of  this 
fact  Col.  Chase  was  promoted  to  the  brigadier-generalship 
Aug.  28,  1847. 

Military  affairs  were  stimulated  by  the  Mexican  war  in 
1846.  While  no  militia  organization  went  from  Massachu- 
setts, individuals  from  all  regiments  enlisted  in  the  ist  Mas- 
sachusetts Volunteers,  the  single  regiment  sent  out  by  the 
state;  and  tales  of  American  valor  in  the  southwest  served 
to  arouse  all  to  do  better  work.  Mexican  veterans  afterward 
organized  a  company  in  our  command;  and  became  the 
recognized  custodians  of  the  ist  Volunteers'  Mexican  battle- 
flag. 

Regimental  responsibility  was  too  much  for  the  Dor- 
chester Artillery,  and  it  was  disbanded  in  1845.  Only  four 
companies  remained  in  the  5th  Regiment.  In  fact  there 


ARTILLERY  ix    1917 


Copyright  by  Continental  Ins.  Co. 


ARTILLERY  IN  1784 


1840-1861  35 


was  too  much  disbanding  for  <  ic  good  of  the  militia.  The 
state  authorities  seemed  to  think  that  it  was  cheaper  to  dis- 
band a  company  which  had  fallen  into  "hard  luck"  than  it 
was  to  cure  the  difficulty  by  paying  a  little  money  for  the 
restoration  and  s^port  of  the  sufferer.  This  was  a  false 
economy.  Of  the  one  hundred  forty-two  companies  which 
existed  in  1840  in  the  new  Volunteer  Militia,  seventy-eight 
were  disbanded  within  the  first  seven  years,  and  one  hun- 
dred two  passed  out  of  existence  within  twenty-five  years. 
With  so  many  surgical  operations  it  is  marvelous  that  any 
militia  survived  at  all. 

Altho  few  in  number,  the  four  companies  of  the  5th  Regi- 
ment who  paraded  as  an  escort  to  President  Polk  June  29, 
1847,  and  who  welcomed  Daniel  Webster  upon  his  return 
to  Boston,  gave  evidence  of  increased  efficiency.  The  legis- 
lature was  making  more  liberal  appropriations — was  indeed 
spending  each  year  (1844-1852)  all  of  $6  per  man  on  the 
militia ;  even  this  moderate  expenditure  was  far  better  than 
nothing.  The  state  authorities  were  very  well  satisfied  with 
themselves  and  with  their  handiwork,  reporting  to  inquirers 
that  the  Massachusetts  system  "met  every  need."  A  fairly 
liberal  allowance  of  ammunition  was  made  to  each  artillery 
company — forty  round  shot,  forty  canister,  and  one  hundred 
pounds  of  powder  every  year. 

William  B.  Perkins  became  Colonel  Sept.  10,  1847.  Altho 
he  did  not  enjoy  good  physical  health,  and  died  in  office 
November  16,  1849,  ms  administration  was  signalized  by 
several  important  events.  On  March  10,  1848,  occurred 
the  funeral  of  Ex-President  John  Quincy  Adams.  The 
regiment,  or  part  of  it,  paraded  on  Oct.  25  of  the  same  year 
in  celebration  of  the  completion  of  the  Cochituate  water 
system.  On  Aug.  8  and  9,  1849,  tne  regiment  participated 
in  its  first  state  camp,  at  Neponset,  continuing  two  and  one- 


\ 


36  The  Old  First 


half  days.  A  curious  old  print  of  this  encampment  has 
come  down  to  us  showing  how  the  ist  Brigade  of  the  ist 
Division  looked  at  the  time.  The  5th  Artillery  was  present, 
four  companies  strong,  clad  conspicuously  in  bearskin  and 
other  towering  shakos;  the  balance  of  the  brigade  con- 
sisted of  the  National  Lancers  in  their  uhlan  costumes,  as 
at  present,  which  had  been  adopted  four  years  before,  and 
the  ist  Light  Infantry,  wearing  distinctive  company  uni- 
forms. The  Lancers  were  at  that  time  attached  to  the  ist 
Light  Infantry,  and  were  the  only  cavalry  command  in  the 
state.  Was  any  prophet  present  in  Neponset  on  those  Au- 
gust days  gifted  with  ability  to  read  the  future?  Did  anyone 
even  guess  that  twenty-nine  years  later  the  5th  Artillery 
and  the  remnant  of  the  ist  Light  Infantry  were  to  consoli- 
date in  a  new  ist  Regiment?  While  a  two  and  one-half  day 
camp  must  necessarily  be  chiefly  occupied  with  pitching 
tents,  escorting  visitors,  engaging  in  those  social  festivities 
which  are  "absolutely  essential"  on  all  military  occasions, 
and  then  taking  down  the  tents,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
men  acquired  much  real  military  knowledge  in  between- 
tirries,  and  that  the  new  custom  registered  a  long  step 
forward. 

Col.  Asa  Law  commanded  the  regiment  from  Jan.  4  to 
July  10,  1850. 

July  26,  1850,  witnessed  another  change  in  the  colonelcy, 
Robert  Cowdin  assuming  command  of  the  regiment.  Col. 
Cowdin,  in  his  peaceful  moments,  was  a  Boston  lumber- 
dealer  ;  but  members  of  the  regiment  will  always  remember 
him  as  a  soldier,  except  when  they  recall  some  more  intimate 
contact  with  the  man  whom  they  loved ;  then  they  speak  of 
him  as  "father."  It  makes  a  great  deal  of  difference  that 
he  commanded  them  during  the  year  of  fearful  hardship 
and  sanguinary  strife  on  the  Virginia  Peninsula;  but  even 


1840-1861  37 


before  that  he  had  endeared  himself  to  his  men,  while  he 
was  merely  a  militia  commander.  He  had  been  Captain  of 
Co.  K,  in  the  ist  Inf.  during  1848  and  1849;  and  came  into 
the  artillery  as  Major.  It  is  hardly  over-stating  it,  to  say 
that  Col.  Cowdin  is  the  man  who  made  the  regiment  great. 

What  he  assumed  command  over  was  actually  four  splen- 
did artillery  companies,  loosely  yoked  together  in  the  5th 
Regiment.  The  conception  was  nine-tenths  "company "  and 
only  one-tenth  "regiment."  Inter-company  rivalry  had  pre- 
vented the  development  of  real  regimental  spirit.  The  new 
colonel  was  determined  to  command  a  true  regiment;  and 
since  he  was  a  man  of  masterly  force  and  boundless  enthu- 
siasm, he  speedily  had  his  way.  Distinctive  company  cos- 
tumes yielded  place  to  a  regimental  uniform,  and  thereafter 
the  company  was  a  subordinate  unit.  The  obsequies  of  Ex- 
President  Taylor  were  the  last  occasion  on  which  inter- 
company diversity  appeared ;  and  that  was  in  the  very  month 
of  Col.  Cowdin's  accession.  In  all  his  reforms  he  was  ably 
seconded  by  Capt.  Moses  H.  Webber  of  Roxbury,  com- 
manding the  ist  Company.  In  1851  percussion  muskets 
displaced  the  flint-locks.  The  same  year  a  new  4th  Com- 
pany, the  Cowdin  Artillery,  was  organized,  followed  in 

1852  by  the  Qth  Company,  the  Webster  Artillery,  and  in 

1853  by  tne  3^  Company  or  Bay  State  Artillery  and  the  5th 
Company  or  Shields  Artillery.    The  regiment  thus  had  eight 
companies.    That  year  Isaac  S.  Burrell  became  Captain  of 
the  ist  Company. 

Col.  Cowdin's  first  camp  was  held  at  Medford,  and  drew 
warm  compliments  from  the  Adjutant  General.  Neponset 
was  occupied  as  a  camp-ground  for  the  second  time  in  1851 ; 
Boston  Common  in  1852;  and  the  regiment  participated  in 
divisional  camp  at  North  Abington  in  1853.  ^n  I^54  tne 
division  was  at  Quincy.  How  conditions  have  changed  with 


38  The  Old  First 


the  increase  of  Massachusetts  population!  Who  would 
think  of  these  places  as  suitable  camp-sites  today,  least  of 
all,  Boston  Common? 

Col.  Cowdin's  regiment  paraded  as  escort  to  President 
Fillmore  Sept.  17,  1851;  they  helped  welcome  the  Hunga- 
rian patriot,  Louis  Kossuth,  April  27,  1852;  and  they  par- 
ticipated in  the  funeral  parade  for  Daniel  Webster  in 
Marshfield,  Nov.  30,  1852.  It  came  to  be  a  custom  at  this 
time  for  Boston  military  critics  and  newspaper  reporters 
to  accord  chief  praise,  after  a  parade,  to  the  5th  Regiment. 

Anthony  Burns'  name  is  associated  with  the  next  im- 
portant event  in  the  regiment's  history,  the  most  unpleasant 
event  with  which  it  ever  had  anything  to  do.  No  more 
painful  duty  can  confront  the  militiaman  than  the  task  of 
maintaining  public  order,  for  no  American  likes  to  have 
part  in  coercing  his  fellow  citizens.  And  on  June  2,  1854, 
the  regiment  was  called  upon  to  enforce  the  most  unpopular 
statute  ever  enacted  by  Congress,  the  "Fugitive  Slave"  law. 
Burns  had  escaped  from  his  owner  in  Virginia,  and  found 
employment  with  a  Boston  clothing-dealer.  Massachusetts 
was  called  upon  to  render  him  up  under  the1  terms  of  the 
new  statute,  and  the  U.  S.  Marshal  arrested  him  on  May  25. 
Public  sympathy  was  strongly  with  the  colored  man,  funeral 
draperies  appeared  upon  the  fronts  of  private  residences, 
many  threatened  mob  violence,  and  a  great  popular  meeting 
was  held  in  Faneuil  Hall,  May  27,  addressed  by  Wendell 
Phillips  and  other  prominent  anti-slavery  men,  to  protest 
against  this  humiliation  to  which  Massachusetts  was  about 
to  submit.  The  speakers  even  counseled  a  rescue  by  force. 
Under  the  U.  S.  law,  a  man  "held  to  service"  in  another  state, 
could  be  extradited  and  transported  to  that  state  for  trial. 
The  trouble  was,  that  in  the  case  of  a  fugitive  slave,  extra- 
dition involved  the  entire  question — if  Burns  should  be  car- 


1840-1861  39 


ried  back  to  Virginia,  his  chance  of  liberty  would  be  gone ; 
and  Boston  believed  in  liberty.  An  attempt  was  made  to 
take  him  from  jail,  but  this  proved  unsuccessful. 

Col  Cowdin's  5th  Regiment,  Col.  Holbrookes  ist  Regi- 
ment, the  3d  Battalion,  the  Cadets  and  the  Lancers  were 
ordered  out  to  assist  the  police  in  enforcing  the  law. 
Guards  were  posted  along  the  streets  leading  from  the 
court-house  to  the  "T  Wharf/'  where  a  steamer  lay  in 
readiness;  and  the  Lancers,  with  a  strong  detachment  of 
police,  and  U.  S.  artillery,  surrounded  the  prisoner.  It  was 
on  June  2  that  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  rendered  his  deci- 
sion; and  the  grim  procession  started  at  once.  Red  pepper 
and  acid  were  thrown  at  the  troops,  clubs  and  stones  were 
used,  a  Lancer's  horse  was  stabbed ;  but  the  display  of  force 
proved  too  strong  for  the  rioters. 

Both  Col.  Cowdin  and  Col.  Holbrook  later  proved  the 
genuineness  of  their  devotion  to  freedom's  cause  by  com- 
manding regiments  in  the  Civil  War.  What  they  and  their 
commands  did  on  June  2,  1854,  was  entirely  distasteful  to 
them ;  but  the  call  came  to  them  as  soldiers.  Like  true  sol- 
diers they  performed  their  duty ;  and  Burns  went  back  to  the 
south.  His  fidelity  to  duty  was  eight  years  later  to  be  in- 
strumental in  preventing  the  confirmation  of  Col.  Cowdin's 
appointment  as  Brigadier  General. 

Happily,  with  the  modern  increase  in  police  efficiency 
occasions  for  such  service  grow  less  and  less  frequent.  Our 
professional  police  officers  are  now  capable  of  handling  all 
but  the  most  severe  crises  without  military  assistance. 

Another  state- wide  reorganization  of  the  militia  was  en- 
gineered by  the  legislature  on  Feb.  26,  1855 ;  and  in  some 
ways  this  was  the  most  unfortunate  of  them  all.  It  was 
primarily  caused  by  racial  and  sectarian  jealousy,  a  spirit 
which  has  no  rightful  place  whatever  in  American  life.  The 


40  The  Old  First 


principles  of  the  "Know  Nothing"  party  were  regnant  that 
year.  No  less  a  man  than  Thomas  Cass  was  forced  to  re- 
sign his  military  commission — today  his  statue  stands  in 
honor  in  the  Public  Gardens.  It  almost  seemed  that  the 
dominant  faction  were  determined  to  prove  themselves  in 
the  military  and  other  diverse  fields,  as  well  as  in  the  field 
of  partizan  politics,  to  be  "know  nothings."  The  5th  Regi- 
ment, Boston's  best,  was  ordered  disbanded;  but  the  State 
House  authorities  did  not  really  mean  this.  They  only  reor- 
ganized the  command,  with  the  intention  that  the  resultant 
"2d  Regiment  of  Infantry"  should  continue  its  service 
record.  The  6th  Company,  the  old  Columbian  Artillery 
commanded  by  Cass,  together  with  the  Webster  Artillery 
and  Shields  Artillery  of  the  5th,  were  actually  disbanded. 
Worst  of  all,  Col.  Cowdin  found  his  commission  vacated, 
apparently  for  political  reasons.  Capt.  Cass's  company  con- 
tinued its  existence  as  the  "Columbian  Association,"  and 
in  1 86 1  developed  into  the  Qth  Infantry. 

Moses  H.  Webber  was  commissioned  Colonel  of  the  new 
2d  Infantry  on  April  18,  1855,  and  continued  in  office  until 
Dec.  19  of  that  year.  It  consequently  fell  to  his  lot  to  adapt 
the  regiment  to  its  new  conditions.  Since  the  regiment  had 
been  drilling  more  and  more  as  infantry  and  less  and  less 
as  artillery,  the  change  from  one  branch  of  the  service  to 
the  other  was  less  abrupt  than  it  appeared  to  be.  And  be  it 
noted  that  the  regiment  never  lost  interest  in  its  native  ar- 
tillery— until  in  1897  it  re-entered  the  artillery  branch.  Col. 
Webber  had  four  companies  from  the  5th,  three  of  them  old 
and  strong  ones.  Two  companies  were  transferred  from 
the  ist  Regiment,  the  6th  and  9th,  of  which  both  were  already 
distinguished  under  their  names,  the  "Union  Guards"  and 
the  "National  Guards."  The  artillery  companies  signalized 
their  transition  to  infantry  by  changing  their  names,  the 


MAJ.  POORE  PAYS  His  BET 
Page  99 


1840-1861 


Roxbury  Artillery  becoming  the  Roxbury  City  Guard,  the 
Washington  Artillery  the  Washington  Light  Guard,  and 
the  Boston  Artillery  the  Boston  Phalanx.  The  regiment, 
so  reorganized,  was  paraded  by  Col.  Webber  as  escort  to 
President  Franklin  Pierce,  when  the  latter  visited  Boston. 

As  the  Civil  War  approached,  Massachusetts  grew  more 
liberal  in  providing  for  her  soldiers.  In  1852  the  expendi- 
ture per  man  was  increased  to  $6.50  a  year,  in  1857  to  $9.00, 
and  in  1858  the  expenditure  was  fixed  at  $7.50  and  remained 
there  until  1869. 

The  New  York  7th  Regiment  visited  Boston  and  partici- 
pated in  the  Bunker  Hill  celebration  of  June  17,  1857. 
Their  ease  and  precision  of  movement,  their  evident  regi- 
mental spirit,  their  large  numbers,  and  their  serviceable  yet 
dressy  gray  uniform,  worn  uninterruptedly  since  1824, — all 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  Boston  military  men.  As  the 
7th  had  stopped  to  suppress  an  incipient  riot  on  its  way  to 
the  boat  in  New  York  the  night  before,  its  practical  ef- 
ficiency added  force  to  the  impression.  The  Lancers  and 
the  2d,  who  acted  as  special  escort  to  the  visiting  troops, 
came  most  strongly  under  this  spell.  An  impulse  was  given 
to  the  movement  for  improving  the  2d.  In  1859  tne  regi~ 
ment  adopted  a  gray  uniform  closely  patterned  after  the 
dress  of  the  7th,  and  continued  the  new  bill  of  dress  until 
July,  1 86 1.  Again  after  the  war  the  same  gray  uniform 
was  in  use  between  1869  and  1880. 

Col.  William  W.  Bullock  commanded  the  regiment  from 
Jan.  n,  1856,  until  April  14,  1858,  when  he  was  promoted 
to  be  Brigadier  General.  Camp  was  held  at  Quincy  in  1856 ; 
at  Chelsea  in  1857 ;  and  the  latter  occasion  was  notab1e  be- 
cause Robert  Cowdin  then  rejoined  his  old  command,  ac- 
cepting the  rank  of  Lieutenant  Colonel. 

In  1858  (May  n)  Col.  Cowdin  was  again  in  command; 


42  The  Old  First 


and  continued  in  office  until  the  second  year  of  the  war, 
when  on  Sept.  26,  1862,  he  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of 
Brigadier  General.  In  connection  with  the  regimental  camp 
at  North  Bridge  water,  1858,  the  regiment  received  its  long- 
desired  rifled  muskets. 

So  many  companies  had  been  transferred  from  the  old 
ist  Regiment,  that  it  finally  seemed  best  to  disband  that 
organization  altogether.  By  contrast  with  the  5th-2d,  its 
regimental  spirit  had  grown  weaker  and  weaker  with  each 
passing  year  until  Boston's  oldest  regiment  was  nothing  but 
a  loosely  connected  group  of  separate  companies.  So  on 
March  i,  1859,  four  of  its  companies,  the  Washington 
Guards,  the  Independent  Boston  Fusiliers,  the  Pulaski 
Guards  and  the  Mechanic  Rifles,  were  transferred  to  Col. 
Cowdin's  regiment,  where  they  took  place  as  the  2d,  3d,  4th 
and  5th  Companies  respectively.  As  separate  companies 
these  already  possessed  proud  records;  and  in  their  new 
regimental  connection  the  3d  and  4th  immediately  found  a 
vigorous  new  life.  The  Mechanic  Rifles  soon  disbanded,  and 
most  of  the  members  joined  the  Ancient  and  Honorable 
Artillery  Company.  Later  on,  we  shall  follow  the  adven- 
tures of  the  three  remaining  companies  of  the  old  ist. 

Meanwhile  Massachusetts  was  getting  ready  for  the  ap- 
proaching war  and  putting  her  military  .forces  in  condition 
for  active  service.  Sept.  7  to  9,  1859,  Col.  Cowdin  led  his 
reinforced  command  to  camp  at  Concord,  winning  highest 
praise  for  the  numbers  and  skill  of  his  men.  This  was  a 
notable  occasion  in  Massachusetts  military  history,  and  as  it 
later  proved,  in  U.  S.  history.  Had  not  the  Bay  State  been 
more  ready  for  war  than  her  sisters,  there  would  have  been 
no  "minute-men  of  '61"  available  to  rush  southward,  and 
save  the  National  capital.  The  Concord  encampment  for 
the  entire  Volunteer  Militia,  three  divisions  with  a  total 


18401861  43 


membership  of  7,500  men,  was  the  pet  project  of  Gov. 
Nathaniel  Banks.  While  other  executives  of  the  state  had 
regarded  their  office  of  commander-in-chief  as  a  somewhat 
perfunctory  affair,  Gov.  Banks  took  it  exceedingly  seriously ; 
and  even  went  so  far  as  to  uniform  himself  in  clothing 
appropriate  to  his  military  office.  Surely  he  "came  to  the 
kingdom  for  such  a  time  as  this."  While  the  pacifist  gov- 
ernors of  many  northern  states  were  ridiculing  the  very  idea 
of  war,  Gov.  Banks  put  his  state  in  an  attitude  of  prepared- 
ness— and  was  largely  instrumental  in  saving  the  Union. 

As  the  encampment  continued  only  three  days,  it  was 
mainly  occupied  with  making  and  breaking  camp,  and  escort- 
ing distinguished  official  visitors.  But  some  little  time  was 
squeezed  out  for  studying  the  new  Hardee's  tactics,  which 
were  just  supplanting  Scott's.  Great  enthusiasm  was 
aroused  by  the  presence  of  Gen.  John  E.  Wool,  the  "hero 
of  Buena  Vista,"  who  reviewed  the  troops.  But  the  great 
day  of  all  came  when  Gov.  Banks  and  the  members  of  the 
legislature  reviewed  the  campers.  A  famous  lithograph  of 
this  scene  exists ;  and  does  more  than  anything  else  to  make 
the  regiment  of  those  days  seem  real  to  us.  Numbers  were 
small,  as  we  reckon  numbers  today;  but  the  finest  spirit  of 
determined  patriotism  was  manifest. 

A  slight  change  in  organization  took  place  under  Hardee's 
tactics;  instead  of  four  lieutenants  to  a  company,  there 
were  only  two.  Consequently  few  new  men  were  elected 
to  fill  vacancies  until  the  regiment  had  adjusted  itself  to  the 
new  regime.  The  officers  of  the  regiment  at  the  great  Con- 
cord encampment,  besides  Col.  Cowdin,  were:  Lieutenant 
Colonel,  Isaac  S.  Burrell  (postmaster  of  Roxbury,  and  later 
City  Marshal)  ;  Major,  Isaac  F.  Shephard.  The  captains 
commanding  companies  were:  ist,  Thomas  L.  D.  Perkins 
(proprietor  of  a  smoke-house) ';  3d,  Henry  A.  Snow  (trea- 


The  Old  First 


surer  of  a  bleachery)  ;  6th,  Edward  Pearl;  /th,  Walter  S. 
Sampson  (a  mason  and  builder)  ;  8th,  Clark  B.  Baldwin  (a 
merchant)  ;  9th,  Arthur  Dexter;  and  loth,  Joshua  Jenkins. 
With  the  Civil  War  less  than  two  years  off,  it  is  well  to  look 
ahead  and  see  how  many  of  these  militiamen  rendered  ser- 
vice in  the  hour  of  their  country's  need.  Of  the  Colonel 
we  have  already  spoken.  The  Lieutenant  Colonel  com- 
manded the  42d  Regiment  in  1862,  and  again  in  1864,  as  we 
shall  see.  The  Major  presently  removed  to  Missouri  for 
business  reasons,  where  he  served  with  Nathaniel  Lyon,  and 
ultimately  commanded  the  5ist  U.  S.  Colored  Infantry,  and 
was  promoted  to  be  Brigadier  General.  Four  of  the  seven 
captains  went  to  war.  Capts.  Snow  and  Pearl  served  three 
months  each  at  the  beginning  of  the  regiment's  three  years 
of  service,  and  then  received  their  discharges.  Capt.  Samp- 
son took  his  company  into  the  6th  Regiment,  and  led  them 
thru  Baltimore  on  April  19,  1862,  under  deadly  fire  from 
the  rioters.  Later  he  served  as  Captain  in  the  22d  Infantry 
during  the  Peninsular  campaign,  commanding  that  regiment 
at  Gaines  Mill.  Capt.  Baldwin  remained  in  Col.  Cowdin's 
regiment  when  his  company  transferred  themselves  to  the 
new  4th  Battalion  of  Rifles  and  ultimately  to  the  I3th  Regi- 
ment ;  and  became  commander  of  a  new  4th  Company,  and 
from  1862  to  1864  was  Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the  regiment. 
Baldwin  was  a  most  profane  man,  and  during  the  ensuing 
campaign  stragglers  could  identify  their  regiment  from  a 
distance  by  the  sound  of  his  swearing.  When  Baldwin  was 
made  prisoner  at  the  Wilderness,  his  captors  marvelled  at 
his  vocabulary ;  and  came  up  to  his  tent  in  successive  reliefs 
to  listen.  Once  a  youthful  fifer  who  had  been  caught  by 
the  then  Lieutenant  Colonel  straggling,  was  punished  by 
having  a  log  loaded  on  his  shoulder  as  he  marched.  This 
lad  has  put  on  record,  that  regulations  provided  for  "a  field 


1840-1861  45 


officer  at  the  head  of  a  regiment  and  a  mule  at  the  rear" ; 
and  that  Col.  Baldwin  was  deemed  well-qualified  for  either 
end  of  the  column.  But  the  testimony  is  confessedly  biassed. 

Boston  Common  was  the  site  of  the  1860  camp,  the  last 
camp  before  the  war.  Military  interest  was  then  at  fever 
heat,  and  the  very  air  seemed  electric  with  the  coming  strug- 
gle. In  the  midst  of  the  warlike  preparation  occurred  a 
peaceful  ceremony  which  gained  in  interest  from  its  very 
contrast  with  its  surroundings;  the  youthful  Prince  of 
Wales,  afterward  Edward  VJII  of  Great  Britain,  visited 
Boston  and  was  accorded  military  honors.  A  member  of 
the  regiment  has  recorded  of  him  that  he  was  "a  really 
handsome  youth  with  a  pleasant  blue  eye,  plump  cheeks, 
and  skin  of  great  fairness." 

On  January  24,  1861,  the  2d  Regiment  was  redesignated, 
receiving  the  number,  "ist,"  which  had  been  taken  away 
from  the  old  ist  in  1859.  Since  six  companies  of  the  old 
ist  (as  well  as  Col.  Cowdin  himself)  had  previously  been 
added  to  what  now  became  the  "Civil  War"  ist,  there  was 
an  obvious  fitness  in  allowing  the  number  to  be  transferred 
also.  Moreover  the  future  held  in  store  that  all  remaining 
of  the  old  ist  personnel  should,  in  1878,  be  consolidated  with 
their  quondam  comrades  in  a  new  ist  Regiment. 


CHAPTER   IV 
RESPONDING   TO    THE    PRESIDENT'S    CALL 

April,  1 86 1,  ended  the  suspense.  Sumpter  was  fired  upon 
April  12.  Lincoln's  first  call  for  troops  was  issued  April  15, 
supplemented  by  a  personal  appeal  from  Senator  Henry 
Wilson — "Send  on  1,500  men  at  once."  The  militia  mobil- 
ized with  marvelous  rapidity  on  April  16,  and  started  south 
under  command  of  Gen.  Benjamin  F.  Butler  the  following 
day,  for  three  months'  service. 

Those  were  days  of  tense  feeling.  A  shipmaster  who 
displayed  a  southern  flag  was  in  danger  of  losing  both  his 
life  and  his  vessel ;  and  ended  by  issuing  profuse  apologies. 
Business  firms  made  lavish  gifts  toward  the  equipment  of 
the  regiments ;  indeed  everyone  seemed  ready  to  give  what- 
ever he  had.  All  one  needed  to  do  was  to  appear  in  uniform 
in  order  to  be  accounted  a  hero — much  to  the  discomfort  of 
many  genuinely  modest  men. 

And  thruout  these  opening  days  the  ist  Regiment  was 
subjected  to  the  very  hardest  test,  in  that  nothing  whatever 
happened  to  them.  They  could  not  take  comfort  in  the 
knowledge  that  the  3d  Regiment,  one  of  the  very  earliest 
to  go,  would  by  and  by  become  consolidated  with  them,  and 
so  share  the  honors  which  they  were  earning.  All  that  the 
members  of  the  ist  could  do  was  to  hope,  and  growl,  and 
wonder  why  the  Governor  should  select  them  for  home- 
guard  purposes  while  he  allowed  others  to  go  to  war. 

Then  something  actually  did  happen,  which  only  served 
to  aggravate.  Captain  Sampson  discovered  a  vacancy  in 
the  6th  Regiment,  aa4  with  Col.  Cowdin's  approval  promptly 


Responding  to  the  President's  Call  47 

secured  the  transfer  of  his  7th  Company,  the  Washington 
Light  Guard,  one  of  the  three  strong  artillery  companies 
which  had  come  down  from  the  very  beginning  of  regimental 
history ;  so  that  the  6th  had  a  Co.  K  of  which  to  be  proud, 
and  the  ist  Regiment  had  nothing.  Co.  K  of  the  6th,  as  was 
to  be  expected,  covered  itself  with  glory  during  the  street- 
fight  in  Baltimore  on  April  19.  Capt.  David  K.  Wardwell, 
whose  company  had  suffered  disbandment  a  few  months 
before,  profited  by  his  consequent  independence  and  organ- 
ized a  new  company,  with  Col.  Cowdin  presiding  at  the  elec- 
tion of  officers;  and  then  took  the  new  organization  off  with 
the  5th  Regiment  as  Co.  F.  "Wardwell's  Tigers"  shared 
in  the  laurels  won  by  their  regiment  at  Annapolis  and 
Washington,  and  three  months  later  at  Bull  Run  found 
themselves  fighting  in  the  same  army  with  the  old  ist  Regi- 
ment. Meanwhile  their  success  in  getting  into  active  ser- 
vice did  not  make  it  any  easier  for  the  ist  Regiment  to 
endure  the  masterly  inactivity  of  those  April  days. 

Finally  on  April  27,  the  ist  Regiment  was  ordered  to 
prepare  itself — as  if  it  had  not  been  prepared  "right  up  to 
the  handle"  for  two  weeks  past.  But,  alas,  instructions 
came  from  the  War  Department  that  no  more  three-months 
men  were  desired,  and  after  fifteen  days'  service  by  the 
regiment,  the  order  was,  on  May  7,  revoked.  Forty-two 
years  later  the  legislature  passed  a  resolve  according  official 
recognition  to  the  ist  Regiment  as  having  volunteered  with 
the  other  minute  men ;"  but  this  was  no  comfort  whatever 
to  the  eager  young  soldiers  of  1861,  who  were  told  to  lay 
down  their  weapons  and  go  home.  Col.  Cowdin  and  his 
men  were  in  high  favor  at  the  Boston  City  Hall ;  but  owing 
to  their  services  at  the  Burns  riot,  and  for  other  political 
reasons,  they  were  frowned  on  by  Gov.  Andrew  and  the 
Senators. 


48  The  Old  First 


On  second  thought  Col.  Cowdin  decided  that  he  and  his 
men  were  going  to  get  into  active  service  in  spite  of  all 
difficulties.  It  had  just  become  known  that  the  Government 
desired  three-year  regiments,  and  this  opened  a  door  of 
possibility.  The  1st  would  go  to  war  for  three  years.  To 
be  sure  this  was  a  plunge  in  the  dark.  Suppose  the  war 
should  not  last  three  years — would  the  troops  be  kept  in 
service  anyway  ?  Moreover,  there  had  never  been  any  three- 
year  volunteers  in  the  United  States,  during  any  previous 
war;  and  it  requires  courage  to  set  a  precedent.  But  Col. 
Cowdin  and  his  men  made  the  necessary  readjustments  de- 
manded by  the  prospect  of  prolonged  absence  from  home, 
and  volunteered  as  a  three-year  regiment.  Owing  to  their 
promptness,  they  were  able  to  win  an  honor  greater  even 
than  came  to  the  "minute-men;"  for  they  became  the  very 
first  long-term  volunteer  regiment  to  enter  U.  S.  service 
anywhere  in  the  country,  the  first  not  only  of  the  Civil  War 
but  of  any  war.  Their  adventures,  and  the  battles  they 
fought,  are  "another  story";  and  will  be  told  in  a  later 
chapter. 

One  of  the  three  old  original  artillery  companies  having 
been  lost  to  the  6th,  another  was  destined  to  go  with — 
no,  the  correct  expression  is,  to  "become" — the  I3th  Regi- 
ment. Late  in  1860  the  8th  Company,  the  "Boston  Artil- 
lery," became  interested  in  organizing  a  "crack"  battalion 
or  regiment  for  Boston.  They  were  already  members  of 
the  best  regiment  in  the  Commonwealth,  but  they  were  not 
satisfied  with  that.  Capt.  Baldwin  did  not  share  in  this  new 
ambition  and  declined  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it.  In 
civil  life  he  was  a  merchant  and  wholly  practical  in  his 
tastes;  as  a  soldier  he  was  a  plain,  blunt  man,  "full  of 
strange  oaths,"  "who  loved  his  friends."  The  new  depar- 
ture did  not  appeal  to  him.  So  Capt.  Baldwin  transferred 


Responding  to  the  President's  Call  49 

to  the  4th  Company,  the  Pulaski  Guards,  and  remained  with 
his  old  regiment;  while  the  Boston  Artillery  chose  Gen. 
Samuel  H.  Leonard,  recently  of  Worcester,  as  their  captain. 
Under  Capt.  Leonard  the  Boston  Artillery  absorbed  what 
survived  of  the  disbanded  Columbian  Greys  or  City  Guards 
of  the  old  ist,  and  proceeded  to  expand  into  the  4th  Bat- 
talion of  Rifles.  It  was  on  Dec.  15,  1860,  that  the  new 
battalion  was  formed.  Before  the  enthusiastic  officers  and 
men  had  time  to  do  much  toward  developing  their  ideal  of 
a  "crack"  regiment,  they  found  themselves  upon  the 
threshold  of  the  great  war.  On  May  25,  1861,  they  volun- 
teered to  garrison  Ft.  Independence  for  one  month;  and 
almost  before  the  month  had  expired,  the  4th  Battalion  of 
Rifles  had  expanded  once  more  and  become  the  I3th  Regi- 
ment, and  on  July  16  they  were  mustered  in  for  three  years' 
service.  Col.  Cowdin's  men  felt  that  they  could  well  afford 
to  lose  their  grand  old  8th  Company,  when  their  loss  re- 
sulted in  the  addition  of  an  entire  regiment  to  the  Union 
army.  The  I3th  served  as  part  of  the  first  corps  in  the 
army  of  Virginia,  and  later  the  army  of  the  Potomac.  Their 
regimental  monument  stands  on  the  field  of  their  hardest 
fight,  that  of  the  first  day  at  Gettysburg,  where  they  lost 
their  gallant  corps  commander,  Gen.  John  F.  Reynolds. 
And  on  the  second  day  of  that  battle,  toward  evening,  they 
were  sent  to  reinforce  Sickles  on  the  left,  in  whose  corps 
was  the  ist  Massachusetts.  Once  more  the  Boston  Artil- 
lery and  the  Roxbury  Artillery  were  serving  side  by  side. 

On  May  18,  1861,  just  one  week  before  the  ist  was  mus- 
tered into  Federal  service,  it  lost  another  company.  Capt. 
Joseph  H.  Barnes  had  organized  a  new  7th  Company  to  fill 
the  place  made  vacant  by  Capt.  Sampson's  withdrawal.  But 
the  example  of  his  predecessor  proved  contagious;  so  that 
presently  the  new  company  followed  the  old  one.  Capt. 


50  The  Old  First 


Barnes'  command  joined  the  4th  Mass.  Infantry  at  Fort 
Monroe,  and  so  found  active  work  immediately.  When, 
however,  the  4th  presently  came  home,  its  new  Co.  K  was 
left  behind,  and  became  incorporated  in  the  2Qth  Regiment, 
with  which  it  served  three  years.  In  1862  the  2Qth  was  with 
the  army  of  the  Potomac,  in  1863  in  Mississippi  and  Ten- 
nessee, and  again  with  the  army  of  the  Potomac  in  1864. 
Capt.  Gardner  Walker's  North  End  True  Blues  eventually 
went  with  Col.  Cowdin  as  the  7th  Company. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Isaac  S.  Burrell  was  not  able  to  accom- 
pany his  regiment  in  the  three-years'  service.  Remaining 
in  Boston  with  a  few  other  members  who  were  similarly 
situated,  he  maintained  a  skeleton  organization  of  the  old 
militia  regiment.  And  because  the  new  number,  ist,  was 
borne  by  Col.  Cowdin,  Col.  Burrell  had  to  hunt  another 
designation  for  his  command.  The  fourteen  officers  and 
two  hundred  sixteen  men,  in  seven  companies,  who  were 
engaged  in  this  home-guard  duty  were  by  no  means  satisfied 
with  their  position.  Their  hearts  were  in  Maryland  and 
Virginia  with  their  former  comrades. 

In  the  spring  of  1862  Banks  was  driven  from  the  Shenan- 
doah  valley  and  the  north  began  to  fear  for  the  safety  of 
Washington.  On  May  26,  in  response  to  requests  from  the 
Secretary  of  War,  Massachusetts  and  other  northern  states 
mobilized  their  militia,  recruiting  the  regiments  up  as  nearly 
as  possible  to  full  strength.  This  alarm  subsided  presently. 
But  Pope's  defeat  at  second  Bull  Run,  August  30,  left  the 
capital  in  genuine  peril,  and  caused  a  hasty  call  for  300,000 
more  troops,  to  serve  nine  months.  Grave  disaster  had 
overtaken  the  Union  arms,  and  there  was  immediate  need 
for  reinforcements.  Col.  Burrell  was  in  militia  camp  at 
Medford  with  his  regiment  when  the  call  came ;  and  at  once 
volunteered.  Indeed  this  was  just  the  chance  for  which 


Responding  to  the  President's  Call  51 

they  had  been  waiting — active  duty  but  for  a  period  not  so 
extended  as  three  years. 

Recruits  were  needed  in  order  to  bring  the  regiment  up 
to  war  strength.  By  some  singular  perversity,  as  soon  as 
recruiting  began,  a  situation  developed  which  threatened  to 
destroy  the  regiment  entirely.  Col.  Burrell  and  Lt.  Col. 
Thomas  L.  D.  Perkins  were  both  graduates  of  the  ist  Com- 
pany, Perkins  having  succeeded  Burrell  as  captain.  A  bitter 
jealousy  had  grown  up  in  Perkins'  mind  which  made  him 
incapable  of  rendering  loyal  support  to  his  chief.  Maj. 
George  W.  Beach  shared  Lt.  Col.  Perkins'  feeling  and  co- 
operated in  his  insubordination.  Needless  to  say,  Col.  Bur- 
rell gave  no  real  ground  whatever  for  this  feeling. 

After  the  deadlock  had  continued  for  more  than  a  month, 
during  which  the  regiment  made  little  progress  in  filling  its 
ranks,  Col.  Burrell  secured  Gov.  Andrew's  permission  to 
take  strenuous  measures.  Another  command,  the  54th  of 
Worcester  county,  was  similarly  in  need  of  men.  The  men 
already  belonging  to  the  42d  (as  Burrell's  command  became 
known,  possibly  with  some  reference  to  the  proud  record 
made  by  the  42d  or  Black  Watch  Highlanders  in  the  British 
army)  were  consolidated  into  the  ist  and  3d  Companies; 
new  7th  and  loth  Companies  were  formed  in  Boston  and 
Dorchester;  2d  and  Qth  Companies  were  drawn  from  the 
54th,  while  Boston,  Medway  and  Weymouth  provided  units 
for  the  four  vacancies.  Capt.  George  Sherive  commanded 
the  ist  Company,  Capt.  George  P.  Davis  the  2d  (or  Ware 
Company),  Capt.  Alfred  N.  Proctor  (a  photographer,  and 
one  of  the  indistinguishable  "Proctor  twins")  the  3d,  Capt. 
Charles  A.  Pratt  the  4th,  Capt.  David  W.  Bailey  the  5th, 
Capt.  Ira  B.  Cook  the  6th  (from  Medway),  Capt. 
Orville  W.  Leonard  (who  had  been  a  private  in  the  6th 
Regiment  during  the  ninety-days  service)  the  7th,  Capt. 


52  The  Old  First 


Hiram  S.  Coburn  the  8th  (from  Weymouth),  Capt  John 
D.  Coggswell  the  9th  (of  Leicester),  and  Capt.  Cyrus 
Savage  the  loth  or  Dorchester  Company.  All  the  newer 
elements  proved  to  be  congenial,  the  Worcester  county  men 
being  especially  good  soldiers,  with  the  exception  however 
of  the  5th  Company.  This  unit  was  gathered  in  too  much 
of  a  hurry,  contained  a  "tough"  element,  and  was  a  constant 
cause  of  discord.  No  one  could  then  foresee  that  the  regi- 
mental number,  54th,  released  by  the  consolidation  of  com- 
panies in  the  42d,  would  presently  be  immortalized  by  Col. 
Robert  Gould  Shaw's  heroic  black  men. 

In  accordance  with  law,  the  company  officers  proceeded 
to  elect  regimental  officers,  and  bestowed  the  chief  honor 
upon  Col.  Burrell.  Perkins  and  Beach  tried  hard  to  prevent 
this,  but  in  vain ;  the  electors  were  seeking  the  best  soldier, 
and  cared  nothing  whatever  for  old  jealousies.  They  pro- 
ceeded to  select  Joseph  Stedman  as  Lt.  Col.  and  Frederick 
G.  Stiles  of  Worcester  as  Major,  thus  retiring  the  dis- 
gruntled former  incumbents  of  those  offices.  A  magnificent 
stand  of  colors  was  presented  to  the  command ;  and  on  Oct. 
14,  the  42d  was  finally  mustered  in. 

Nothing  out  of  the  ordinary  marked  the  railroad  journey 
to  New  York.  But  progress  thereafter,  which  was  by  boat, 
proved  to  be  highly  uncomfortable.  The  transports  were 
small,  and  not  too  seaworthy.  And  worse  yet  for  "land- 
lubbers," the  sea  was  rough.  It  is  said  that  the  man  estab- 
lishing his  claim  to  possessing  the  strongest  stomach  was 
the  man  whose  digestive  organ  would  throw  the  farthest. 
As  however  all  things  have  an  end,  the  sufferers  finally  ar- 
rived at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  once  more  became 
habitants  of  terra  fir  ma. 

From  the  streets  of  Boston  and  the  hills  of  Worcester 
county  to  the  canebrakes  and  swamps  of  Mississippi  and 


Responding  to  the  President's  Call  53 

Louisiana  is  a  violent  transition,  which  nothing  less  tough 
than  the  human  system  could  endure.  Yet  the  42d  Regi- 
ment survived  its  journey  to  the  department  of  the  Gulf 
and  may  almost  be  said  to  have  flourished  in  its  new  environ- 
ment. Of  course  the  heat  was  often  prostrating,  while 
malaria  took  its  toll  of  human  life.  The  companies  were 
separated,  and  were  assigned  to  provost  and  engineering 
duty  at  different  stations.  Hard-tack  and  salt  beef  and  pork 
are  not  luxurious  fare,  muddy  coffee  (which  means  usually 
coffee  made  with  muddy  water)  is  far  from  being  a  dainty 
beverage,  digging  is  a  most  unromantic  occupation,  and 
even  staying  awake  nights  to  watch  while  others  sleep  does 
not  arouse  the  finer  emotions  as  much  in  fact  as  when  set 
forth  by  poets.  Yet  these  are  the  staple  elements  of  a  sol- 
dier's life ;  and  these  the  42d  enjoyed  in  abundant  profusion. 
Sensational  details  were  lacking  in  this  experience ;  but  the 
service  is  not  the  less  a  thing  of  which  to  be  proud. 

Col.  Burrell  with  three  of  his  Boston  companies,  the  1st, 
3d,  and  loth,  were  detached  to  garrison  the  port  of  Gal- 
veston,  Texas,  and  to  co-operate  with  the  Navy  there.  Of 
all  the  42d  Regiment,  these  companies  alone  chanced  to 
find  themselves  "in  the  limelight."  The  Galveston  wharf 
was  to  be  kept  available  for  Naval  use;  and  in  turn  the 
Navy  was  to  shelter  the  garrison  under  the  protection  of  its 
guns.  Witnesses  disagree  as  to  just  how  well  the  latter 
work  was  performed.  On  Jan.  I,  1863,  the  Confederates 
attacked  in  overwhelming  numbers  at  a  moment  when,  for 
some  reason,  the  warships  had  been  withdrawn.  Col.  Bur- 
rell and  his  men  defended  themselves  heroically  and  took 
heavy  toll  from  the  attackers.  But  with  five  thousand  Con- 
federates against  three  hundred  Union  soldiers,  the  result 
was  inevitable.  After  the  Confederates  had  brought  thirty- 
one  pieces  of  artillery  into  action,  Col.  Burrell  and  his  men 


54  The  Old  First 


surrendered  themselves  prisoners  of  war.  Highly  respected 
because  of  their  stubborn  bravery,  the  men  were  soon  ex- 
changed; and  upon  returning  to  the  Union  lines  were  ac- 
corded an  ovation.  The  officers  were  retained  in  captivity 
longer;  and  Col.  Burrell  finally  secured  release  just  in  season 
to  assume  command  of  his  old  regiment  during  its  next  tour 
of  duty,  that  of  the  one  hundred  days.  Other  companies 
of  the  42d  were  in  action  at  Port  Hudson,  Lafourche  Cross- 
ing, and  Brashear  City. 

Disaster  attended  the  return  journey  of  the  42d.  Going 
by  boat  thru  Long  Island  Sound,  one  of  the  transports,  the 
"Commodore/'  struck  a  rock  off  Point  Judith,  and  threat- 
ened to  founder.  The  troops  had  to  be  taken  off  in  small 
boats  at  much  discomfort  and  no  little  peril,  and  finished 
their  journey  in  another  craft.  On  August  20,  1863,  tne 
men  were  finally  mustered  out,  their  nine  months  having 
extended  itself  into  almost  a  full  year. 

Now,  returning,  the  42d  kept  its  place  in  the  line  of  the 
militia.  Meanwhile  unattached  companies  began  to  exist, 
which  in  certain  cases  aimed  to  act  as  reserve  or  "depot" 
companies  for  units  of  the  ist-42d.  This  was  notably  true 
of  the  2d,  3d,  5th,  and  6th  Companies.  The  ist  Regiment 
was  treading  its  bloody  path  of  glory  and  approaching  the 
time  when  it  would  return  to  Massachusetts  and  home.  It 
disbanded  upon  its  muster-out  of  the  U.  S.  service,  May  28, 
1864;  and  many  of  its  members  were  glad  to  join  these  re- 
serve companies  and  so  keep  up  the  cherished  associations. 

Again  the  need  became  urgent  for  more  troops.  Gen. 
Grant,  the  new  Lieut.  Gen.  and  Commander-in-chief,  had 
assembled  all  available  men  for  the  reinforcement  of  his 
mobile  army  in  April,  1864,  withdrawing  so  many  of  the 
defenders  of  Washington  as  to  leave  the  national  capital 
exposed  to  attack.  Iri  July  such  a  raid  was  actually  made 


Responding  to  the  President's  Call  55 

under  the  vigorous  leadership  of  Gen.  Jubal  A.  Early ;  and 
came  uncomfortably  near  to  succeeding.  So  a  call  was 
issued  for  short-term  volunteers  who  should  garrison  forti- 
fied posts,  and  release  the  long-term  men  for  active  service. 
All  the  "hurrah"  spirit  had  gone  out  of  the  war  by  1864— 
indeed  men  were  too  weary  to  feel  enthusiasm  of  any  kind. 
There  is  therefore  something  all  the  finer  in  the  grim  way 
in  which  the  42d  and  the  unattached  companies  responded 
to  this  call. 

Remarkable  as  it  may  seem,  eight  of  the  companies  which 
served  during  the  nine  months'  tour  had  retained  their  or- 
ganization sufficiently  to  respond  a  second  time.  As  one 
of  those  missing  in  1864  was  the  "tough"  5th  Company 
(N.  B.,  of  Boston,  not  Chelsea)  the  task  of  recruiting  the 
needed  units  was  not  altogether  an  unwelcome  one.  Samuel 
A.  Waterman  commanded  the  ist  Company,  Benjamin  R. 
Wales  the  2d,  Alanson  H.  Ward  (later  a  captain  in  the  6ist 
Inf.)  the  3d,  Augustus  Ford  (who  had  been  ist  Sergeant 
and  ist  Lt.  during  the  previous  year)  the  4th,  George  M. 
Stewart  the  new  5th  Company,  Benjamin  C.  Tinkham  (ser- 
geant during  the  nine-months'  service)  the  6th,  Isaac  B. 
White  (ist  Lt.  the  year  previous)  the  7th,  Warren  French 
the  new  8th,  Samuel  S.  Eddy  (a  2d  Lt.  in  the  5 ist  during 
its  nine  months  in  North  Carolina)  the  Qth,  and  James  T. 
Stevens  (ist  Lt.  in  the  4th  Reg.  during  its  three  months  in 
1861)  the  loth.  The  same  field  officers  were  in  command. 
The  happiest  rivalry  existed  between  the  Boston  companies 
and  those  from  Worcester  county,  in  their  attempt  each  to 
bring  the  largest  numbers  and  finest  personnel  forward  in 
response  to  the  new  call.  The  old  regimental  colors  were 
again  borne  at  the  head  of  the  revived  regiment.  Entering 
Federal  service  on  July  20,  the  regiment  was  assigned  to 
the  defences  of  Washington,  and  stationed  at  Alexandria, 


56  The  Old  First 


Virginia.  Here  they  formed  part  of  the  "outer  picket"  of 
the  capital,  and  in  addition  furnished  train-guards  to  pro- 
tect railroad  transportation  from  Washington  to  the  Shenan- 
doah  Valley,  the  men  detailed  to  service  on  the  freight-cars 
being  the  only  members  of  the  42d  coming  under  Confeder- 
ate fire  during  the  present  tour  of  duty.  Col.  Burrell  came 
back  from  his  southern  prison  just  in  season  to  rejoin  his 
command  at  Alexandria.  While  the  regiment  had  enlisted 
for  one  hundred  days,  its  service  continued  thirteen  days 
over  time,  and  the  men  were  mustered  out  Nov.  n. 

There  seemed  to  be  unlimited  reserves  of  vitality  in 
the  ist  and  3d  Companies — indeed  one  is  reminded  of  the 
way  bees  swarm  from  a  hive  as  one  notes  how  these  won- 
derful organizations  made  contribution  after  contribution 
to  the  army  and  yet  remained  as  vigorous  as  ever.  All 
honor  to  the  old  Roxbury  Artillery  and  the  Fusiliers.  The 
Roxbury  Artillery  had  a  full  company  in  the  three-year 
regiment,  in  the  42d  on  its  first  tour,  and  again  on  its  second 
service.  The  Fusiliers  did  even  more.  Besides  these  three 
"bits,"  they  sent  the  7th  Unattached  Company,  on  May  4, 
1864,  for  ninety  days'  duty  on  Gallop's  Island,  Boston,  under 
command  of  Capt.  Albert  E.  Proctor,  who  in  civil  life  was 
well  known  as  a  popular  Boston  clothier,  and  was  the  other 
indistinguishable  "twin."  Again  on  Aug.  18  of  that  year 
they  made  up  Co.  K;  of  the  4th  Mass.  Heavy  Artillery  for 
ten  months'  service  in  Washington,  D.  C,  under  the  same 
Capt.  Proctor.  Meanwhile  they  maintained  their  "depot" 
company  in  a  state  of  efficiency.  Certainly  they  justified 
the  sentiment  of  their  ancient  motto,  Aut  vincere  aut  mori, 
with  all  emphasis  on  the  "victory"  and  never  a  thought  of 
"death." 

New  companies  which  were  presently  to  be  added  to  the 
ist  Regiment  also  did  duty  at  this  time.  The  "ist  Unat- 


Responding  to  the  President's  Call  57 

tached  Company,"  which  garrisoned  Fort  Independence, 
Boston,  for  ninety  days  from  April  29,  1864,  afterward  be- 
came the  4th  Company  in  the  regiment.  And  the  "4th  Un- 
attached Company"  which  garrisoned  the  fort  later  to  be 
known  as  "Rodman,"  in  New  Bedford  harbor  for  ninety 
days  from  May  3,  later  became  the  5th  Company  in  the 
regiment.  Likewise  the  "9th  Unattached  Company,"  which 
was  to  become  the  6th  Company  in  the  regiment  two  years 
later,  on  May  10,  1864,  began  a  ninety  days'  tour  of  garrison 
duty  on  Gallop's  Island,  Boston  Harbor. 

How  the  units  of  the  regiment  kept  coming  back  to  the 
artillery  branch  thruout  the  war!  The  regiment  had  orig- 
inally been  artillery ;  and  the  virus  seemed  to  be  in  the  regi- 
mental blood.  The  old  cannon  were  not  returned  to  the 
state  until  1861.  The  three-year  command  served  as  artil- 
lery for  three  weeks  of  1861  in  Washington,  and  for  two 
weeks  of  1863  in  New  York.  Co.  K  of  the  "4th  Heavies" 
actually  reintroduced  the  "artillery"  title  into  the  regiment. 
The  four  unattached  companies  in  1864  all  served  as  artil- 
lery. Col.  Cowdin's  old  command  was  certainly  destined 
to  handle  heavier  ordnance  than  the  infantry  knew  anything 
about.  No  wonder  they  welcomed  the  restoration  of  artil- 
lery instruction  in  1882. 

Well  may  the  ist-42d  Regiment  feel  interest  in  Edward 
Simmons'  splendid  mural  painting  in  the  State  House,  the 
"Return  of  the  Colors."  For  on  the  day  of  that  ceremony, 
Dec.  22,  1865,  color-bearers  of  both  regiments  were  present ; 
and  both  are  given  place  in  the  picture.  The  war  was  over. 
These  symbols  of  patriotism  for  which  brave  men  had  sac- 
rificed life  were  returning  to  the  custody  of  the  Common- 
wealth who  gave  them.  Was  ever  Forefathers'  day  more 
sacred  than  that  ?  The  "land  of  the  Pilgrim's  pride"  had  now 
become  the  "land  where"  and  for  which  "our  fathers  died." 


CHAPTER   V 
THE   FIGHTING   FIRST 

W.  F.  Fox,  in  his  "Regimental  Losses/'  published  in  1889, 
includes  a  chapter  entitled  "The  three  hundred  fighting 
regiments,"  and  his  list  has  subsequently  become  accepted 
as  a  semi-official  roll-of-honor.  Of  the  more  than  two 
thousand  regiments  on  the  Union  side  during  the  Civil  War 
he  found  three  hundred  which  lost  over  one  hundred  thirty 
each,  killed  or  died  of  wounds.  While  the  number  of  casual- 
ties might  not  always  indicate  fighting  ability,  or  even  fight- 
ing experience,  still  in  the  long  run  the  blood-marked  trail 
of  killed  and  wounded  does  surely  lead  to  where  the  battle 
was  most  severe. 

Amongst  the  three  hundred  fighting  regiments  stands  the 
ist  Mass.  Vol.  Inf.,  three-year  troops,  another  name  for  the 
Coast  Artillery.  Of  our  various  companies  who  went  out 
during  the  three  wars  in  which  we  have  participated,  all 
losses  by  killed  or  died  of  wounds  were  confined  to  those  in 
the  Civil  War.  No  such  casualties  occurred  in  1814  or  in 
1898.  The  3d  Reg.  lost  2,  the  one  company  in  the  4th  i,  the 
one  company  in  the  I3th  10,  the  single  company  in  the  4th 
and  29th  5,  the  company  in  the  5th  4,  the  42d  4,  the  43d  3, 
or  a  total  of  29.  Of  the  regiments  officered  by  us,  the  24th 
lost  92,  and  the  44th  10;  but  it  is  not  fair  to  reckon  these 
as  our  casualties.  In  contrast  with  the  total  of  29: 
the  ist  Mass.  Vol.  Inf.  lost  144,  besides  643  discharged  foi 
disease  or  wounds.  There  can  be  no  question  but  thai 
our  companies  constituting  the  ist  Mass.  Inf.,  the  three- 
year  regiment,  deserve  the  appellation,  "the  Fighting  First.' 


The  Fighting  First  59 


As  soon  as  the  regiment  found  that  their  services  would 
not  be  accepted  for  three  months,  they  set  to  work  prepar- 
ing for  a  three-year  enlistment.  Lt.  Col.  Burrell  and  others 
who  could  not  go  for  the  long  term  organized  themselves 
into  a  reserve  or  "depot"  regiment.  New  companies  which 
had  been  added  in  April  with  a  view  to  entering  the  three 
months'  service  brought  the  total  up  to  ten;  and  these  all 
gladly  entered  into  the  three-year  enlistment.  The  Chad- 
wick  Light  Infantry,  named  for  Hon.  Joseph  H.  Chadwick 
of  Roxbury,  a  liberal  contributor  toward  the  company  ex- 
penses, became  2d  Company  in  the  regiment.  The  Pulaski 
Guards,  newcomers  in  the  regiment,  shifted  from  Qth  to  4th 
place.  Members  of  the  Chelsea  Light  Infantry,  a  7th  Regi- 
ment command  which  had  just  been  disbanded  because  of 
the  disobedience  of  its  captain,  resented  the  false  position 
in  which  they  were  placed ;  and  hastened  in  a  body,  on  April 
19,  to  the  State  House  where,  with  Gov.  Andrew  himself 
presiding,  they  reorganized  and  forthwith  received  a  charter 
as  the  "Chelsea  Volunteers."  This  accomplished,  the  new 
unit  at  once  became  the  5th  Company  in  the  ist  Regiment. 
While  there  had  been  two  7th  Companies  within  a  month, 
both  had  gone  off  with  other  regiments;  and  the  vacant 
number  was  now  filled  by  the  North  End  True  Blues.  The 
True  Blues  consisted  of  caulkers,  gravers  and  riggers  from 
the  ship-yards.  They  had  begun  their  history  many  years 
previously  as  a  fire-engine  company,  and  in  1832  had  taken 
up  military  training.  But  it  was  not  until  April,  1861,  that 
they  regularly  connected  themselves  with  the  militia.  A 
newly  organized  Brookline  company  took  the  8th  place, 
made  vacant  by  the  transfer  of  the  Boston  Artillery.  The 

t National  Guards,  newcomers  in  the  regiment  but  with  a 
history  running  back  to  the  Mexican  war,  assumed  the  9th 
number.  And  the  Schouler  Guards,  named  after  the  popu- 


6o  The  Old  First 


lar  Adjutant  General  of  Massachusetts,  became  the  loth 
Company. 

Col.  Cowdin  remained  in  command,  and  speedily  demon- 
strated that  he  was  as  capable  a  leader  in  actual  warfare  as 
he  had  been  during  the  years  of  peace.  One  notable  and 
somewhat  unusual  trait  was  discovered  by  his  associates — 
he  never,  under  any  circumstances,  would  permit  a  drop  of 
alcoholic  liquor  to  pass  his  lips.  George  D.  Wells,  judge 
of  the  Boston  municipal  court,  went  as  Lieutenant  Colonel, 
and  soon  gained  the  reputation  of  excelling  even  his  chief 
as  a  tactician.  He  afterward  became  colonel  of  the  34th 
Mass.  Inf.,  and  was  killed  at  Cedar  Creek  in  1864.  Charles 
P.  Chandler  of  the  new  8th  Company  was  chosen  Major; 
and  was  destined  to  die  in  battle  a  year  later,  at  Glendale 
in  the  White  Oak  Swamp.  The  company  commanders  were : 
ist,  Ebenezer  W.  Stone,  Jr.;  2d,  Abiel  G.  Chamberlain, 
afterwards  a  colonel  of  colored  troops ;  3d,  Henry  A.  Snow, 
commander  of  the  company  as  far  back  as  1849;  4th,  Clark 
B.  Baldwin,  afterwards  Lt.  Col. ;  5th,  Sumner  Carruth, 
later  Colonel  of  the  35th  Mass.  Inf.;  6th,  Edward  Pearl; 
7th,  Gardner  Walker,  who  was  to  succeed  Chandler  as 
Major ;  8th,  Edward  A.  Wild,  later  a  Major  of  the  32d  Mass. 
Inf.;  Qth,  Alfred  W.  Adams;  and  loth,  Charles  E.  Rand. 
The  loth  was  the  only  company  destined  to  lose  its  com- 
mander in  action,  Capt.  Rand  being  killed  at  Chancellors- 
ville,  and  by  a  singular  fatality,  his  successor,  Capt.  Moses 
H.  Warren  at  Spotsylvania. 

In  consequence  of  the  regiment's  prompt  decision,  they 
were  able  to  be  mustered  in  as  volunteers  on  May  25,  1861, 
— the  first  three-year  organization  in  the  entire  United 
States. 

The  regiment  journeyed  by  rail  from  Boston  and  reached 
Washington  on  June  15,  the  first  long-term  organization 


The  Fighting  First  61 


to  arrive.  Passing  thru  Baltimore  they  were  very  cautious, 
having  in  mind  the  experience  of  their  comrades  less  than 
two  months  before.  But  the  city  was  then  actually  under 
complete  Federal  control. 

Blackburn's  Ford,  the  preliminary  skirmish  of  Bull  Run, 
on  July  1 8,  1861,  first  brought  the  regiment  under  fire. 
Lieut.  Albert  S.  Austin  lost  his  revolver  at  this  time ; — judge 
of  his  pleasant  surprise  when,  in  1896,  receiving  a  package 
from  a  Confederate  veteran,  he  opened  it  and  discovered 
the  long-missing  weapon.  This  revolver  may  now  be  seen 
in  the  collection  of  the  A.  &  H.  Art.  Co.  Part  of  an  army 
all  of  whose  members  were  inexperienced,  it  is  greatly  to 
their  credit  that  they  were  chosen  as  rear-guard  of  the  re- 
treating Federals  after  the  main  battle  of  Bull  Run,  July  21. 
Perhaps  it  was  because  of  the  reputation  gained  here  that 
the  ist  came  to  be  frequently  detailed  to  the  responsible  rear- 
guard position.  They  served  in  this  capacity  during  the 
change  of  base  on  the  Peninsula,  and  during  the  subsequent 
retreat  from  that  district.  They  covered  the  retreat  of  the 
army  after  Fredericksburg.  But  it  is  safe  to  say  that  they 
were  never  more  valuable  as  rear-guard  than  when  at  Bull 
Run  they  steadily  held  their  place  behind  the  torrent  of 
panic-stricken  fugitives  and  prevented  the  victors  from 
pressing  the  pursuit..  This  transpired  during  their  first  bat- 
tle, when  they  had  been  less  than  three  months  in  the 
service. 

Their  gray  militia  uniforms  in  which  the  regiment  went 
to  war  cost  them  dearly  at  Blackburn's  Ford  and  Bull  Run. 
Facing  troops  similarly  attired,  Lieut.  W.  H.  B.  Smith  of 
the  3d  Company  called  out  that  he  and  his  men  were  from 
Massachusetts,  thinking  that  he  was  talking  to  other  north- 
ern soldiers.  But  his  words  were  greeted  with  a  volley  by 
which  the  lieutenant  lost  his  life.  Later  in  the  action  a 


62  The  Old  First 


similar  explanation  by  Capt.  Carruth  of  the  5th  Company 
barely  prevented  a  Michigan  regiment  from  firing  on  the 
First.  Immediately  after  the  battle  new  blue  uniforms  were 
issued. 

Three  weeks  of  garrison  duty  at  Fort  Albany,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  ensued,  when  the  regiment  was  drilled  in  the 
use  of  heavy  artillery.  August  13,  they  were  transferred 
to  Bladensburg  on  the  other  side  of  Washington,  where  they 


first  came  under  the  command,  as  part  of  the  brigade,  of  Gen. 
Hooker.  Serving  with  him  in  succession  as  brigade,  divi- 
sion, corps  and  army  commander,  they  always  felt  especially 
devoted  to  their  chief.  It  is  no  accident  that  Capt.  Isaac 
P.  Gragg  of  ours  wrote  in  1900  a  book  affectionately 
tracing  the  careers  and  homes  of  Hooker's  ancestors.  The 
same  veteran  and  his  comrades  bore  a  leading  part  in  secur- 
ing the  Hooker  statue  on  the  State  House  grounds,  dedicated 
in  1903.  In  March,  1862,  the  regiment  received  their  "white 
diamond"  badges,  of  which  they  were  always  so  proud,  the 


The  Fighting  First  63 


Army  of  the  Potomac  then  being  organized  into  four  corps, 
and  they  forming  part  of  the  second  division  (Hooker's)  of 
the  third  corps. 

They  were  engaged  in  provost  or  garrison  duty  in  Mary- 
land during  the  winter  of  '61-62,  and  were  stationed  during 
most  of  the  time  at  Budd's  Ferry. 

From  Yorktown  to  Spotsylvania,  during  two  entire  years, 
the  regiment  bore  the  white  flag  of  Massachusetts  and  had 
an  honorable  part  in  all  the  battles  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  with  the  exception  of  South  Mountain  and  An- 
tietam,  which  occurred  while  they  were  recuperating  at 
Washington.  They  were  heavily  engaged  at  Williamsburg, 
May  5,  1862,  where  Hooker  won  the  soubriquet,  "Fighting 
Joe,"  of  which  he  was  never  proud.  Here  also  Col.  Cowdin 
earned  the  brigadier-generalship,  which  was  tentatively 
awarded  him  Sept.  26,  and  of  which  he  was  eventually  de- 
prived for  political  reasons.  Col.  Cowdin  had  the  misfor- 
tune to  be  antagonized  by  the  Republican  Governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  by  the  U.  S.  Senators  from  the  Common- 
wealth ;  the  Senate  refused  to  confirm  his  appointment.  The 
sword  carried  by  Col.  Cowdin  at  Williamsburg  is  today  in 
the  Faneuil  Hall  armory  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable 
Artillery  Company.  The  regiment  lost  heavily  at  Fair 
Oakes,  June  25,  and  Glendale,  June  30,  when  Major  Charles 
P.  Chandler  was  killed.  Again  suffering  severely  at  second 
Bull  Run,  Aug.  29,  and  Chantilly,  Sept.  I,  their  effective 
numbers  were  reduced  to  less  than  six  hundred.  It  is  a 
pointed  testimony  to  the  high  cost  of  military  unprepared- 
ness  that  many  of  the  brave  men  were  incapacitated,  not  by 
wounds,  but  by  preventable  disease.  While  Gen.  George  B. 
McClellan's  ability  has  been  a  subject  of  prolonged  con- 
troversy, the  general  never  lacked  for  loyal  and  devoted 
support  from  the  members  of  the  First. 


64  The  Old  First 


Yorktown  is  historic  ground.  Going  by  water  from 
Budd's  Ferry,  the  regiment  landed  upon  the  same  shore 
which  Washington's  Continentals  had  trodden  eighty  years 
earlier.  Their  progress  thru  the  fields  of  yellow  broom 
was  over  ground  rendered  memorable  by  the  Revolutionary 
heroes.  Near  the  present  beautiful  National  cemetery  and 
in  sight  of  the  present  charming  Yorktown  battle-monument 
stood  a  Confederate  intrenchment  which  occasioned  annoy- 
ance to  McClellan's  army.  It  had  withstood  two  assaults, 
and  was  in  the  way  of  the  army's  advance.  Lt.  Col.  Wells 
offered  to  take  the  work ;  and  his  offer  was  accepted.  Col. 
Wells  had  read  American  history  and  knew  how  "Mad 
Anthony"  Wayne  achieved  immortality;  the  appeal  now 
would  be  to  cold  steel.  About  2  A.  M.  the  5th,  8th  and  loth 
companies  were  quietly  awakened,  the  5th  to  make  the  at- 
tack, and  the  others  to  serve  as  supports.  The  men  formed 
their  line  amid  the  silence  of  the  woods;  and,  at  earliest 
dawn,  heard  their  commander  whisper,  "This  is  McClellan's 
first  order.  The  honor -of  Massachusetts  is  in  your  keeping. 
Charge!"  Across  four  hundred  yards  of  miry,  uneven 
ground  they  advanced  in  the  face  of  Confederate  rifle  fire. 
Arriving  at  the  redoubt,  with  a  shout  for  old  Massachusetts, 
they  fired  a  single  volley ;  and  completed  their  task  with  the 
bayonet.  Just  ten  minutes  after  Col.  Wells'  command,  the 
intrenchment  was  in  Union  hands.  An  old  lithograph  of 
this  action  is  to  be  seen  in  the  museum  of  the  Cadet  Armory, 
Boston. 

Four  members  of  the  5th  Company  were  here  killed. 
April  26  was  the  date  of  the  assault;  four  days  later  the 
remains  were  sent  north,  and  in  due  time  were  received 
with  a  magnificent  demonstration  of  honor  in  Chelsea.  One 
of  the  dead,  Private  Allen  A.  Kingsbury  of  Medfield, 


The  Fighting  First  65 


was  specially  honored  by  the  publication  of  a  memorial 
biography. 

The  battle  of  Williamsburg  was  almost  a  private  affair 
with  Hooker's  division.  Williamsburg,  the  "cradle  of  the 
republic"  and  birthplace  of  the  American  revolution,  had 
once  been  a  proud  capital.  It  is  today,  and  always  has  been, 
noted  for  the  warm-hearted  hospitality  of  its  citizens.  It 
was  there  that  Washington  earned  his  degree  as  civil  en- 
gineer, and  there  he  wooed  and  won  his  bride.  There 
Patrick  Henry  thundered  forth  the  brave  words,  "If  that  be 
treason,  make  the  most  of  it."  And  there  today  the  two 
sons  of  President  John  Tyler  reside,  one  serving  as  county 
judge  and  the  other  as  president  of  "William  and  Mary 
College."  But  so  early  as  1862  the  glory  had  departed, 
and  the  shabbiness  which  accompanies  slavery  was  dominant. 
There  on  May  5,  1862,  amid  the  beeches  and  sycamore 
trees  about  Fort  Magruder  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  halted 
his  retreat  and  engaged  in  a  rear-guard  action.  His  in- 
trenchments  were  shallow ;  but  the  pursuing  Federal  troops 
were  few — only  a  single  division.  Hence  the  fighting  was 
severe.  When  finally  the  ist  Regiment  marched  thru  the 
town  and  up  "Duke  of  Gloucester"  St.  in  pursuit  of  the 
broken  Confederate  column,  they  felt  that  they  had  fully 
earned  their  laurels. 

While  most  of  the  Union  army  went  up  the  York  river  by 
boat,  the  ist  Regiment  made  the  journey  on  land.  Altho 
the  country  was  naturally  fertile  and  the  climate  of  the  best, 
a  general  seediness  and  "run  down"  condition  prevailed, 
so  that  it  was  like  a  desert  to  the  weary,  hungry  marchers. 
Finally  the  Williamsburg  road  brought  the  troops  to  Seven 
Pines — the  spot  from  whose  tree-tops  could  be  seen  the 
spires  of  Richmond,  six  miles  away.  Doubtless  everyone 
has  passed  thru  some  experience  so  terrible  that  it  comes 


66  The  Old  First 


back  in  his  moments  of  nightmare.  Seven  Pines  and  Sav- 
age's Station  fill  that  role  for  veterans  of  the  old  ist.  To- 
day a  portion  of  the  battle-field  is  a  National  cemetery,  a 
veritable  God's  acre,  sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  dead, 
melodious  with  the  voice  of  cat-bird  and  mocking-bird  and 
the  graceful  killdeer.  There  the  magnolia  grows  to  per- 
fection and  the  luscious  fig  matures  in  the  summer  sunshine. 
But  this  district,  usually  so  dry  and  substantial,  is  at  the 
edge  of  the  Chickahominy  or  White  Oak  Swamp.  From 
May  31  to  June  25,  1862,  unusually  severe  rains  swelled  the 
Chickahominy  and  inundated  the  surrounding  country.  For- 
tunately there  are  islands  in  the  swamp,  places  of  partial 
refuge,  to  which  our  men  resorted.  McClellan's  plan  called 
for  a  junction  with  the  army  of  Irvin  McDowell  about  June 
i,  and  for  a  grand  assault  by  the  combined  forces  upon  the 
Confederate  Johnston.  For  reasons  which  seemed  adequate 
to  the  authorities  in  Washington,  notwithstanding  the  seri- 
ous results  for  McClellan  and  his  army,  McDowell  was  for- 
bidden to  march  south  and  keep  his  appointment.  While 
McClellan  waited,  and  while  the  floods  refused  to  abate, 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  in  a  bad  way.  R.  E.  Lee, 
Johnston's  successor,  attacked  nearly  every  day.  Mosquitoes 
bit,  and  the  result  thereof  was  malaria.  Finally  the  ground 
was  dug  over  and  fought  over  so  constantly  that  there  was 
time  neither  to  care  for  the  wounded  nor  bury  the  dead; 
and  a  condition  of  horror  ensued  which  surpasses  all  power 
of  description.  Men  actually  had  to  sleep  side  by  side  with 
their  dead  comrades, — comrades  who  had  been  dead  for 
days.  It  is  very  easy  to  understand  why  the  Peninsular  cam- 
paign developed  into  a  retreat;  a  month  of  such  fighting 
was  all  that  flesh  and  blood  could  endure.  Not  even  the 
issue  of  a  whiskey  ration,  which  commenced  at  this  time, 
could  sufficiently  blunt  the  soldiers'  senses — altho  it  did  ac- 


The  Fighting  First  67 


complish  vast  moral  damage.  So  when  McClellan  became 
convinced  that  he  would  not  have  McDowell's  co-operation, 
he  turned  back;  he  could  do  nothing  else. 

It  was  easier  in  the  north  to  organize  new  regiments  with 
their  numerous  openings  for  the  appointment  of  officers,  and 
with  the  enlisted  men  starting  military  life  on  an  equality 
rather  than  with  some  as  veterans  and  others  as  "rookies." 
Nevertheless  this  system  resulted  in  depleting  the  older  and 
more  experienced  regiments,  and  cost  the  government  mil- 
lions of  dollars  in  unnecessary  expense.  Massachusetts,  by 
contrast  with  other  states,  did  recruit  up  her  three-year 
regiments,  and  endeavored  to  keep  their  ranks  filled,  even 
tho  the  later  accessions  had  to  be  given  the  privilege  of  tak- 
ing discharges  with  their  regiments  at  the  end  of  less  than 
three  years.  Sept.  5,  1862,  a  large  number  of  recruits  ar- 
rived, who  had  been  enlisted  by  officers  of  the  ist  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  who  brought  the  companies  once  more  up 
to  one  hundred  each.  About  the  same  time  there  was  an 
exchange  of  prisoners,  and  the  men  who  returned  from  their 
unwilling  residence  in  southern  cities  had  many  interesting 
experiences  to  relate. 

After  the  Peninsular  campaign,  as  regiments  became  re- 
duced in  size  to  not  more  than  five  hundred  men,  the  gov- 
ernment decided  to  economize  by  dismissing  the  regimental 
bands,  and  substituting  brigade  bands.  The  First  bade 
regretful  farewell  to  their  musicians ;  this  method  of  sav- 
ing money  the  men  regarded  as  a  mistake. 

Much  of  the  hard  fighting  done  by  the  ist  Regiment  took 
place  within  a  very  limited  area.  Fredericksburg,  Chan- 
cellorsville,  the  Wilderness  and  Spotsylvania  all  lie  within 
a  few  square  miles,  and  all  can  be  visited  by  automobile 
within  half  a  day.  Moreover  a  visitor  cannot  fail  to  be 
impressed  with  the  fact  that  these  battle-fields  seem  to  have 


68  The  Old  First 


been  selected  so  as  to  destroy  the  least  possible  amount  of 
private  property.  Outside  of  the  actual  city  of  Fredericks- 
burg,  the  country  is  little  better  than  pine-barren,  and  con- 
tains few  houses  and  not  even  much  cultivated  land.  Since 
we  now  know  pines  to  be  health-giving,  and  well-drained 
sandy  soil  to  be  freest  from  disease  germs,  we  can  see  how 
this  choice  of  battle-fields  by  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
doubtless  saved  lives  as  well  as  property.  The  climate  too 
is  free  from  extremes.  But  the  men  of  1863  and  1864  did 
not  appreciate  these  things ;  all  that  they  had  time  to  notice 
were  the  dust  and  drought  and  heat  and  hunger  and  hard 
fighting. 

At  Fredericksburg  Gen.  A.  E.  Burnside  tried  to  march 
directly  south  toward  Richmond,  crossing  the  Rappahannock 
on  pontoon  bridges.  It  was  a  winter  battle — the  date  was 
Dec.  13,  1862 — with  great  discomfort  and  a  fair  chance  that 
wounded  men  would  freeze  to  death.  Fifer  Bardeen  tells 
that  one  captain,  Walker,  trembled  as  he  entered  -the  battle — 
and  Capt.  Walker  was  the  bravest  of  the  brave.  Lee  had 
every  advantage  of  position;  the  resulting  disaster  was  in- 
evitable. 

About  two  months  after  Col.  Cowdin's  promotion,  as  the 
regiment  were  covering  the  retreat  of  the  army  from  Fred- 
ericksburg, they  were  introduced  to  their  new  colonel. 
Napoleon  B.  McLoughlin,  in  spite  of  his  French-Irish  name, 
was  a  Vermont  Yankee.  He  had  entered  the  regular  army 
from  the  New  York  7th,  and  at  the  time  of  his  appointment 
to  the  Colonelcy  was  a  captain  in  the  6th  U.  S.  Cavalry. 
He  was  respected  and  well  liked;  but  he  always  suffered 
from  the  fact  that  the  men  felt  him  somewhat  of  an  inter- 
loper. Capt.  Baldwin  of  the  4th  Company  had  become 
Lt.  Col.  and  by  all  rules  of  seniority  should  have  been  made 
Colonel.  However  Col.  McLoughlin  held  the  esteem  of  his 


The  Fighting  First  69 


men,  and  made  an  honorable  record.  His  regular  army 
strictness  was  beneficial  to  his  new  command.  On  Feb.  9, 
1863,  two  months  after  the  arrival  of  the  new  colonel,  the 
regiment  was  subjected  to  an  extremely  rigid  inspection; 
and  was  pronounced  one  of  the  eleven  best  disciplined  and 
most  efficient  regiments  of  the  one  hundred  fifty  constituting 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

Chancellorsville,  May  2  and  3,  1863,  was  the  next  great 
battle.  Gen.  J.  Hooker  crossed  the  Rappahannock  several 
miles  above  Fredericksburg  and  tried  to  turn  Lee's  left  flank. 
Hooker  unexpectedly  came  into  collision  with  Stonewall 
Jackson's  troops  and  instead  of  hurting  Lee,  almost  suf- 
fered the  humiliation  of  seeing  his  own  right  flank  crumpled 
up.  At  the  most  critical  moment  of  the  Chancellorsville 
fight,  Hooker  was  wounded  and  the  army  left  without 
a  head.  When  O.  O.  Howard's  nth  corps  broke  and  ran 
("started  for  Germany"),  it  was  only  the  ist  Regiment  and 
other  troops  under  Dan.  Sickles  who  saved  the  Union  army 
from  destruction.  Their  promptness  in  entering  the  breach 
in  the  lines,  and  their  stubborn  courage  in  remaining  there 
hour  after  hour,  were  all  that  checked  the  on-rushing  Con- 
federates. At  Chancellorsville  the  regiment  was  for  the 
first  time  serving  under  both  of  its  best-loved  commanders, 
Gens.  Hooker  and  Sickles. 

On  the  night  following  Howard's  break,  according  to 
common  belief  amongst  the  men,  it  fell  to  their  fate  to  be 
the  slayers  of  Gen.  "Stonewall"  Jackson,  one  of  the  severest 
blows  to  the  Confederate  cause  during  the  entire  war.  The 
6th  and  loth  Companies  were  on  outpost  when  a  party  of 
Confederate  horsemen  rode  down  the  Plank  Road  toward 
their  lines.  As  a  result  of  the  volley  then  fired,  Gen  Jack- 
son fell,  the  identification  being  made  complete  by  Sergt. 
Charles  F.  Ferguson  of  the  loth  Company,  who  was  a 


70  The  Old  First 


prisoner-of-war  for  a  few  minutes,  and  happened  to  be 
close  to  the  mounted  officers  when  the  fire  was  received. 
Ferguson  made  his  escape  in  the  ensuing  confusion.  This 
event  was  merely  an  accident  of  warfare,  and  entirely  un- 
premeditated. While  others  claim  to  have  been  the  agents 
of  Jackson's  removal,  and  altho  the  Southerners  say  that 
their  own  men  fired  the  fatal  shots,  still  there  is  no  good 
reason  for  rejecting  the  contention  of  the  ist  Regiment, — 
in  fact  the  evidence  seems  conclusive  that  our  claim  is  valid. 

The  plain  shaft  which  marks  the  spot  where  Jackson  fell 
is  a  painful  reminder  to  men  of  the  ist.  Returning  a  year 
later,  at  the  opening  of  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  May 
5  and  6,  1864,  they  were  stationed  upon  the  very  ground 
over  which  they  had  fought  in  '63.  And  when,  during  a  lull 
in  the  fighting,  they  inspected  their  surroundings,  they  found 
human  bones  and  fragments  of  clothing  sufficient  to  identify 
some  of  their  own  regimental  dead.  The  bodies  of  those 
slain  at  Chancellorsville  had  never  been  buried.  No  won- 
der that  men  shuddered  as  they  saw  the  "buzzards"  soaring 
over  head. 

Deep  was  the  discouragement  preceding  Gettysburg.  The 
failure  at  Chancellorsville  had  been  due  to  no  fault  of  the 
men  and  left  them  questioning  whether  they  could  ever  meet 
Lee  on  favorable  terms.  They  were  not  fond  of  Meade. 
Their  march  thru  Maryland  and  into  Pennsylvania  was  the 
most  trying  of  the  entire  war.  On  June  25,  1863,  after  fol- 
lowing the  muddy  tow-path  of  the  C.  &  O.  Canal  all  day, 
only  two  footmen  were  able  to  keep  with  the  mounted  of- 
ficers until  night-fall.  Stragglers  kept  coming  in  during 
the  entire  night.  Then,  at  Gettysburg,  on  the  July  days 
of  1863,  July  i,  2,  and  3,  the  tide  finally  turned,  and  the 
rebellion  began  to  ebb  away. 

Historians  differ  concerning  the  relative  importance  of 


THE  SOUTH  ARMORY,  BOSTON 
Page  133 


FORT  MONROE  IN    1861 
Page  118 


The  Fighting  First  71 


the  second  and  third  days  at  Gettysburg.  Gen.  Sheridan  in 
1880,  and  Gen.  Longstreet  in  1902,  and  Capt.  J.  Long  in  his 
"Sixteenth  Decisive  Battle  of  the  World,"  published  in  1906, 
took  the  ground  that  the  battle  was  won  on  the  second  day, 
by  Sickles  and  the  third  corps.  Gen.  Sickles  had  been  posted 
on  low  ground  to  the  north  of  "Little  Round  Top."  Be- 
coming convinced  that  Longstreet  was  about  to  attack  and 
crumple  up  the  Union  left  flank,  just  as  Jackson  had  crushed 
the  Union  right  at  Chancellorsville,  he  determined  to  pre- 
vent such  a  disaster  by  moving  his  corps  forward  to  the 
higher  ground,  running  north  from  the  Peach  Orchard  along 
the  Emmetsburg  road.  The  1st  Mass.  Inf.,  at  the  "Peter 
Rogers  house,"  held  the  most  advanced  position  of  the  entire 
army.  As  a  consequence  Longstreet  had  no  more  than 
started  when'  he  unexpectedly  came  upon  Sickles'  men, 
where  he  found  plenty  to  keep  him  busy  and  was  unable  to 
crush  anyone.  At  the  day's  close  the  Union  regiments  were 
compelled  to  fall  back  to  Round  Top.  But  meanwhile,  by 
Longstreet's  own  admission,  the  Confederate  plans  had 
failed  entirely  and  Lee  had  been  defeated.  The  gallant 
charge  of  the  Virginians  on  the  third  day  was  only  a  desper- 
ate final  attempt  by  a  beaten  army,  before  commencing  its 
retreat.  Near  the  Peter  Rogers  house,  in  1886,  was  erected 
the  regimental  monument  of  the  First,  a  granite  "white 
diamond,"  bearing  the  words,  "On  July  2,  1863,  from  n 
A.  M.  to  6.30  P.  M.,  the  First  Massachusetts  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, Lieut.-Col.  Clark  B.  Baldwin  commanding,  occupied 
this  spot  in  support  of  its  skirmish  line  800  ft.  in  advance. 
The  Regiment  subsequently  took  position  in  the  brigade  line 
and  was  engaged  until  the  close  of  the  action.  Casualties : 
Killed,  18;  Died  of  wounds,  9;  Wounded,  80;  Prisoners,  15 ; 
Total,  122."  But  for  Sickles'  advanced  stand  with  the  third 
corps  on  July  2,  there  would  not  have1  been  a  third  day  at 


72  The  Old  First 


Gettysburg.  A  model  of  the  regimental  monument  may  be 
seen  at  the  museum  of  the  Loyal  Legion  in  the  Cadet 
Armory,  Boston. 

Corporal  Nathaniel  M.  Allen  of  the  6th  Company  was 
later  awarded  the  Congressional  medal  of  honor  for  here 
bringing  off  the  regimental  colors  at  the  greatest  personal 
risk,  after  the  color  sergeant  had  fallen.  Col.  Baldwin  and 
Adjutant  Mudge  were  wounded.  It  was  on  this  same 
day  that  Lieut.  James  Doherty  of  the  loth  Company 
steadied  his  men  in  the  face  of  a  hot  rifle  fire,  by  calmly 
exercising  them  in  the  manual  of  arms.  Doherty  was 
a  character.  A  most  gallant  officer,  he  had  risen  from  the 
ranks  and  never  lost  his  fellow  feeling  for  the  enlisted  men. 
An  ex-sailor,  he  had  the  sailor's  vices.  Once,  in  1863,  while 
passing  thru  Baltimore,  he  became  drunk,  and  tried  to  kill 
an  officer  of  another  regiment.  Had  not  Col.  Baldwin  seized 
a  musket  and  clubbed  Doherty  over  the  head,  murder  would 
have  been  done.  In  New  York  he  was  placed  under  charges 
for  telling  his  commanding  general  that  he  "lied."  But  the 
charges  were  never  pressed;  perhaps  the  accusation  was 
true.  At  Chancellorsville  he  was  wounded  in  the  finger  by  a 
bullet  which  managed  to  wind  itself  about  the  bone.  Doherty 
roundly  cursed  the  enemy  for  using  defective  lead.  The 
brave  lieutenant  finally  died  in  battle.  A  well-loved  member 
of  the  regiment,  Corp.  Albert  A.  Farnham  of  the  4th  Com- 
pany, was  taken  prisoner  at  Gettysburg,  and  died  in  Rich- 
mond the  1 5th  of  the  following  November,  his  death  being 
due  to  dysentery  caused  by  insufficient  and  unsuitable  food. 
His  soldier's  hymn-book  is  in  the  museum  of  the  A.  &  H. 
Art.  Co. 

July  30  to  Oct.  7,  the  regiment  was  one  of  four  on  provost 
duty  in  New  York  City,  guarding  against  further  draft- 
riots,  and  preventing  conscripts  from  deserting.  Here  they 


The  Fighting  First  73 


resumed  heavy  artillery  drill ;  and  incidentally  became  rested 
after  the  Gettysburg  campaign. 

A  new  commander  directed  the  army  in  the  Wilderness, 
Lieutenant  General  U.  S.  Grant.  The  difference  of  men 
showed  itself  in  the  different  result.  Altho  the  ist,  now 
under  Gen.  W.  S.  Hancock,  and  the  other  Union  regiments 
were  handled  as  roughly  in  1864  as  they  had  been  in  1863, 
when  they  left  the  field  of  battle,  it  was  to  march  southward 
past  Lee's  flank  rather  than  northward  toward  security. 
Scrub  oak  and  pine  have  obliterated  practically  all  traces 
of  the  great  fight.  But  men  can  never  forget  that  the  Wil- 
derness proved  that  the  tide  had  turned,  and  marked  a  long 
step  toward  the  downfall  of  the  Confederacy. 

Spotsylvania  was  a  continuation  of  the  Wilderness  with 
the  fighting  increased,  if  possible,  in  ferocity.  On  May  12, 
the  culminating  day  at  the  "bloody  angle/'  the  ist  Regiment 
was  heavily  engaged  for  the  last  time  in  its  career.  During 
the  morning  it  acted  as  provost  guard  immediately  behind 
the  firing  line,  with  orders  to  permit  no  one  to  pass  to  the 
rear  excepting  wounded  men.  In  the  afternoon  it  was  ad- 
vanced into  the  very  thickest  of  the  conflict  and  assigned 
the  task  of  covering  part  of  the  Confederate  line  with  a 
curtain  of  fire.  Here  both  armies  intrenched,  and  charged 
each  other's  earthworks.  The  fighting  was  amid  tangled 
underbrush  wherein  one  could  see  only  a  few  feet  ahead; 
at  such  short  range  the  bullet  gave  way  to  the  bayonet  and 
even  to  the  clubbed  rifle.  When  the  combat  continued  after 
darkness  had  fallen,  the  fighting  increased  in  intensity. 
Someone  had  to  yield — Lee  retreated.  The  apples  which 
today  grow  at  the  bloody  angle  should  be  redder  and  the 
corn  should  bear  more  red  ears,  for  they  grow  on  sacred 
soil  once  crimson  with  the  life-blood  of  heroes. 

As  they  approached  the  completion  of  their  enlistment 


74  The  Old  First 


the  ist  Regiment  were  stationed  with  the  reserves.  Here, 
on  May  19,  they  took  part  in  their  last  engagement,  at  An- 
derson's Plantation,  on  the  road  to  Fredericksburg — and 
home.  R.  S.  Ewell's  corps  of  Confederates  came  around 
Grant's  right  flank  and  attempted  to  cut  communications 
with  the  north  and  to  capture  the  wagon-trains.  A  brigade 
of  heavy  artillery  regiments  fresh  from  the  defenses  of 
Washington  were  acting  as  convoy — one  of  them  being  the 
ist  Mass.  Heavy  Artillery  from  Salem.  Here  the  Salem 
men  have  erected  their  regimental  monument.  The  heavy 
artillery  had  seen  but  little  fighting;  but  they  now  stood  up 
like  veterans  and  drove  back  an  entire  corps.  Unfortunately 
the  Confederates  were  taking  some  of  the  wagons  with  them 
as  they  drew  back;  and  it  remained  for  the  ist  Inf.  and  their 
companions  in  the  brigade,  some  1,200  in  all,  to  rush  to  the 
rescue  and  recover  the  lost  train.  While  both  ist  Mass, 
regiments — the  Art.  and  the  Inf. — were  equally  brave,  the 
ist  Inf.  had  learned  by  long  experience  to  make  use  of 
"cover,"  to  shelter  themselves  behind  trees,  stones  and 
earthworks.  It  was  largely  this  skill  that  enabled  them  to 
stop  the  panic  and  save  the  Union  army  at  Chancellorsville. 
Now,  on  this  less  important  field,  it  saved  Grant's  wagons 
from  capture. 

Then  came  the  welcome  order  to  return  to  Boston  and 
be  mustered  out. 

A  great  reception  awaited  the  regiment  in  Boston.  Gen. 
Cowdin  was  grand  marshal  of  the  parade,  and  all  Boston 
came  to  extend  the  hand  of  welcome.  Gen.  Cowdin  had 
been  honored  that  year  by  election  as  Captain  of  the  Ancient 
and  Honorable  Artillery  Company,  and  of  course  was  loyally 
supported  by  this  command  in  all  the  exercises  connected 
with  the  reception.  Another  ex-Colonel  of  the  regiment, 
Gen.  Walter  E.  Lombard  in  1916,  was  similarly  to  be  hon- 


The  Fighting  First  75 


ored  by  America's  oldest  military  organization.  A  grim 
pathos  obtruded  itself  upon  the  spirit  of  the  festivities ;  for 
of  the  1,651  men  who  had  gone  to  war,  only  494  were  pres- 
ent on  May  25,  1864,  to  be  mustered  out.  The  command 
had  been  in  twenty  general  actions ;  and  nine  of  its  seventy- 
one  officers  had  been  killed.  It  marched  1,263  miles,  trav- 
elled by  rail  1,325  miles,  and  on  transports  724.  The  regi- 
ment gave  three  general  officers  to  the  army,  and  ninety-one 
other  officers  to  sister  regiments. 

A  number  of  noted  clergymen  have  at  times  held  the 
offico  of  chaplain  of  the  command.  Applying  the  standards 
which  control  the  selection  of  names  for  the  volume,  "Who's 
Who,"  amongst  the  distinguished  chaplains  would  certainly 
have  to  be  mentioned  Otis  A.  Skinner,  the  noted  journalist 
and  preacher,  i85O-'55  ;  Thomas  B.  Thayer,  the  writer,  1858- 
'61 ;  Jacob  M.  Manning,  the  lecturer,  i862-'63 ;  Lewis  B. 
Bates,  father  of  ex-Gov.  Bates,  1868-^72 ;  Alonzo  H.  Quint, 
the  ecclesiastical  statesman,  i872-'76;  William  H.  H. 
("Adirondack")  Murray,  devotee  of  horses  and  woodcraft, 
i873-'76;  Minot  J.  Savage,  author  and  poet,  i883~'96;  and 
Edward  A.  Horton,  the  orator,  Chaplain  of  the  Mass.  State 
Senate,  1896-1900.  Preeminent  among  them  stands  the 
name  of  the  war  chaplain,  Warren  H.  Cud  worth,  i86i-'72, 
'76-'82.  Chaplain  Cudworth  possesses  the  added  distinction 
that  he  was  the  historian  of  the  "Fighting  First." 

Warren  H.  Cudworth  had  graduated  from  Harvard  in 
1850;  and  represented  the  finest  type  of  American  culture. 
If  size  of  hat  indicates  mental  caliber,  his  chapeau,  sacredly 
preserved  at  the  Soldiers'  Home,  Chelsea,  proves  him  to 
have  been  an  intellectual  giant.  For  it  is  number  seven  and 
one-half.  Since  1852  he  had  been  pastor  of  the  Unitarian 
"Church  of  Our  Father"  in  East  Boston.  A  bachelor,  and 
of  independent  means  financially,  he  was  able  to  prove  his 


76  The  Old  First 


patriotism  before  receiving  appointment  as  chaplain  by  an- 
nouncing to  his  church  that,  if  he  should  not  secure  the 
appointment,  he  would  give  his  salary  as  minister  to  main- 
tain work  among  the  soldiers.  The  church  had  raised  a 
fund  for  the  erection  of  a  new  house  of  worship;  this  the 
pastor  urged  them  not  to  spend  as  intended,  but  to  devote 
the  money  to  the  welfare  of  the  Union  soldiers.  When 
appointed,  he  gave  himself  unreservedly  to  the  duties  of  the 
office;  and  absented  himself  from  his  regiment  only  once, 
for  a  single  week  of  Aug.,  '61,  during  the  entire  three  years. 

While  not  a  "fighting  chaplain"  as  some  were,  he  was  in 
every  sense  a  brave  soldier  and  true  gentleman.  Believing 
that  the  better  American  one  is,  the  better  American  soldier 
he  is,  Cud  worth  both  preached  and  exemplified  this  part  of 
his  creed. 

His  Massachusetts  pride  revealed  itself  in  his  comments 
upon  the  inferior  standards  of  living  and  comfort  as  one 
progressed  southward. 

His  scholarly  interest  in  history  and  science  kept  showing 
thruout  all  his  writings.  Bladensburg  is  noted  as  the  field 
of  the  disastrous  militia  defeat  in  1814;  there  is  no  gloss- 
ing over  the  uncomfortable  facts.  Bladensburg  is  also  the 
duelling-ground  where  Commodore  Barron  killed  Decatur 
in  1820.  A  scientific  observer,  he  comments  upon  the  ex- 
cellence of  the  spring  water.  At  Yorktown  the  regiment 
was  encamped  on  historic  ground,  where  Washington's  tents 
had  stood,  and  Cornwallis  surrendered,  in  1781.  But  he 
somehow  fails  to  note  there  the  oldest  custom-house  in 
America.  One  is  reminded  of  high-school  days  to  hear  him 
commenting  upon  McClellan's  bridges  over  the  Chicka- 
hominy — that  they  were  exact  reproductions  of  Caesar's 
famous  span  across  the  Rhine.  Cudworth  comments  appre- 
ciatively upon  the  notable  past  of  the  Fairfax  family,  so 


The  Fighting  First  77 


influential  in  moulding  the  career  of  George  Washington; 
of  the  Chancellors;  and  even  records  facts  about  Prince 
Frederick,  father  of  George  III,  after  whom  Fredericks- 
burg  was  named.  Fossils  and  other  geological  remains 
unearthed  by  regimental  well-diggers  on  the  Peninsula  in- 
terest him. 

But  his  chief  interest  was  in  men  and  their  welfare.  The 
degradation  which  he  saw  occasioned  by  slavery  brought 
sorrow  to  his  heart.  The  untidy  appearance  of  Williams- 
burg  and  other  Virginia  towns — a  consequence  of  slavery — 
impressed  him,  as  it  does  the  visitor  today.  None  rejoiced 
more  than  he  over  the  issuance  of  the  emancipation  procla- 
mation on  Jan.  I,  1863,  and  he  felt  that  such  a  clear  pro- 
nouncement for  justice  and  righteousness  was  more  potent 
than  many  victories.  At  Williamsburg  he  commented  on 
the  generous  hospitality  of  the  southerners;  he  was  also 
amused  by  quaint  epitaphs  in  the  old  Bruton  parish  cemetery. 
At  the  close  of  the  Peninsular  campaign  he  manifested  his 
social  interest  by  commenting  that  the  army  was  then  exist- 
ing in  accordance  with  ideal  industrial  conditions — eight 
hours  daily  for  work,  eight  for  rest,  and  eight  for  recreation. 
When  a  whiskey  ration  was  instituted  in  1862,  he  deplored 
the  resultant  moral  evils. 

Such  a  chaplain  would  do  everything  possible  for  the  wel- 
fare of  the  men.  During  the  first  leisure  season  in  the  regi- 
ment's existence,  that  in  1861  at  Budd's  Ferry,  he  organized 
a  chess  club  which  conducted  exciting  tournaments;  a  lit- 
erary institute  or  debating  society  named  after  Mayor  Frank 
B.  Fay  of  Chelsea;  and  a  large  temperance  society  bearing 
the  name  of  their  total-abstinence  Colonel,  Cowdin,  which 
enrolled  nearly  two  hundred  soldiers  on  its  pledge,  and  had 
fully  one-third  of  the  regiment  "on  the  water  wagon."  The 
chaplain's  tent  was  indeed  the  social  center  of  the  camp. 


78  The  Old  First 


Most  important  of  all  was  his  religious  organization.  The 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  had  not  then  been  introduced ;  so  the  chaplain 
devised  an  association,  which  he  termed  "The  Church  of  the 
First  Regiment."  Their  admirable  covenant,  by  which  they 
existed,  "You  now  solemnly  covenant,  in  the  presence  of 
God  and  these  your  fellow-soldiers,  that  you  will  endeavor, 
by  the  help  of  grace,  to  walk  in  all  the  ordinances  of  the 
gospel  blameless,  adorning  your  Christian  profession  by  a 
holy  life  and  a  godly  conversation,"  has  received  much  un- 
solicited praise;  and  has  afforded  an  inspiring  model  for 
other  military  chaplains. 

Chaplain  Cudworth  was  idolized  by  the  men.  They  affec- 
tionately called  him  "Holy  Jo";  and  he  accepted  the  title 
as  a  mark  of  affection,  stipulating  however  that  they  must 
never  pervert  it  into  "unholy  Jo."  Fifer  Bardeen  of  the 
ist  Company  tells  how,  in  a  New  York  barber-shop,  he 
thrilled  the  crowd  by  a  narrative  of  his  own  supposed  hero- 
ism in  battle,  all  suggested  by  a  boyhood  scar  on  his  head. 
After  he  had  told  enough  "whoppers"  to  set  himself  up  as 
a  hero,  he  glanced  into  the  mirror  and  was  thunderstruck  to 
see  "Holy  Jo"  occupying  the  next  chair  but  one.  The  chap- 
lain knew  Bardeen  well,  and  also  knew  just  how  true  the 
yarn  was  not.  But  under  the  circumstances  he  showed  his 
real  self  by  utterly  failing  to  recognize  or  embarrass  the 
youthful  hero.  No  wonder  that  Bardeen  later  wrote  con- 
cerning the  chaplain,  "He  was  a  good  man,  a  patriot  and  a 
Christian,  ready  to  pray  with  you  at  the  proper  time  but 
never  obtruding  his  piety,  and  always  ready  to  help  you  in 
any  way.  There  was  no  other  officer  in  the  regiment  who 
approached  him  for  genuine  manhood  of  the  highest  type." 

Chaplain  Cudworth's  passing  was  in  keeping  with  the 
rest  of  his  life.  His  death  was  that  of  a  Christian  soldier. 
It  happened  on  Thanksgiving  day,  1883,  while  the  Chaplain 


The  Fighting  First  79 


was  participating  in  a  union  observance  of  the  day  held  in 
a  neighbor  church,  the  "Maverick  Congregational"  of  East 
Boston.  As  he  was  standing  beside  the  pulpit  in  the  very 
act  of  offering  public  prayer,  suddenly  he  was  heard  to  ex- 
claim in  pain,  "I  cannot  go  on."  Before  others  could  reach 
him,  he  fell  to  the  floor,  dead. 


CHAPTER   VI 
1866-1878 

It  was  inevitable  that  a  reaction  should  follow  the  pro- 
longed military  exertion  of  the  Civil  War.  The  north  had 
strained  its  resources  almost  to  the  breaking  point,  and 
people  were  tired  of  the  very  thought  of  a  soldier.  Volun- 
teer regiments,  upon  their  muster-out,  disbanded  outright; 
while  militia  organizations  languished,  and  ofttimes  died. 
"General  apathy"  was  again  in  command  of  the  situation. 

Disbandment  was  the  ultimate  fate  of  the  three-year  regi- 
ment which  had  gone  out  under  Col.  Cowdin.  Fortunately 
many  veterans  of  the  companies  retained  interest  in  military 
affairs,  and  appreciated  the  importance  of  maintaining  the 
militia,  so  that  they  connected  themselves  with  organiza- 
tions designed  to  perpetuate  the  old  regiment.  Finally,  on 
May  1 8,  1866,  orders  issued  for  the  reorganization  of  the 
command. 

As  Col.  Burrell's  42d  Regiment  had  retained  a  place  in 
the  militia  establishment  thru  the  sheer  pertinacity  of  its 
officers,  and  as  it  was  recognized  to  be  a  continuation  of 
the  old  militia  ist  Regiment,  Col.  Burrell  was  continued  in 
command  of  the  new  ist.  The  ist  Company  was  the  cor- 
responding company  of  the  42d.  An  unattached  company, 
the  8 ist,  consisting  largely  of  ist  Regiment  veterans  and 
commanded  by  Lieutenant  George  H.  Johnston,  Adjutant 
of  the  ist,  took  2d  place  in  the  reorganized  regiment.  The 
Fusiliers'  reserve  or  "depot"  company  (the  25th  Unat- 
tached) continued  as  3d  Company,  under  command  of  Capt. 
Alfred  N.  Proctor,  who  had  led  the  3d  Company  of  the  42d. 


1866-1878  8i 

Chelsea  continued  to  supply  the  5th  Company,  having  or- 
ganized the  "Rifles"  (4th  Unattached),  soon  renamed  "Vet- 
erans," as  a  "depot"  company  for  the  original  5th  Company 
(the  "Volunteers")  ;  Capt.  John  Q.  Adams  commanded. 
Veterans  of  the  original  6th  Company  (now  the  Qth  Un- 
attached) under  their  war  commander,  Capt.  George  H. 
Smith,  continued  to  represent  the  old  number.  The  loth 
Company  of  the  42d,  under  command  of  their  war  ist  Lieu- 
tenant, Edward  Merrill,  Jr.,  remained  as  loth  Company  of 
the  reorganized  regiment.  Thus  six  companies  of  Col.  Bur- 
rell's  new  command  were  perpetuations  of  the  old  regiment 
of  which  he  and  Col.  Cowdin  had  been  field  officers.  The 
new  4th  Company  had  seen  ninety  days'  service  under  its 
designation  of  ist  Unattached,  and  was  commanded  by  Capt. 
Moses  E.  Bigelow.  Three  companies,  the  7th,  8th  and  Qth, 
had  no  war  records,  and  merely  came  in  as  the  45th,  66th 
(the  W.  Roxbury  Rifles)  and  67th  Unattached.  The  latter 
two,  however,  were  commanded  by  veteran  officers,  G.  M. 
Fillebrown,  formerly  a  ist  Lieut,  in  the  Mass.  Cavalry,  and 
John  D.  Ryan,  a  2d  Lieut,  in  the  6ist  Mass.  Inf.,  respectively. 
Capt.  Fillebrown's  company  is  the  8th  Co.  today.  With  six 
of  the  ten  companies  coming  directly  from  the  old  regiment, 
it  is  no  wonder  that  the  new  organization  was  granted  the 
right  to  call  itself  the  ist  Mass.  Infantry. 

Col.  Burrell  remained  at  the  head  of  the  regiment  only 
sufficiently  long  to  see  it  established  on  a  firm  foundation ; 
on  July  26,  1866,  he  was  promoted  to  be  Brigadier  General. 
On  August  29,  1866,  Capt.  George  H.  Johnston  of  the  2d 
Company  became  Colonel.  The  original  record  book  of  this 
period  is  in  the  custody  of  Maj.  J.  W.  H.  Myrick  of  the 
Fusilier  Veterans. 

Col.  Johnston's  first  camp  was  held  at  Sharon  in  1866, 
and  had  an  attendance  of  533.  With  so  large  a  proportion 


82  The  Old  First 


of  the  membership  war  veterans,  the  event  seemed  very 
much  like  a  military  reunion.  Officers  and  men  were  already 
thoroly  trained;  all  enjoyed  the  experience  of  again  wear- 
ing the  blue  uniform.  Similar  encampments  were  held  in 
1867,  1868,  1869  and  1872— all  in  Hull.  In  1870  the  entire 
state  militia,  under  command  of  Gen.  Benjamin  F.  Butler, 
encamped  at  Concord,  and  revived  the  memories  of  1859. 
But  how  greatly  had  the  situation  changed  during  those 
eleven  short  intervening  years !  Then  the  war  was  a  dread 
prospect;  now  it  was  a  glorious  retrospect.  In  1871  a  regi- 
mental encampment  was  held  at  Quincy. 

On  June  22,  1867,  Col.  Johnston  and  his  regiment  paraded 
as  escort  to  President  Andrew  Johnson.  A  similar  compli- 
ment was  paid  to  President  U.  S.  Grant,  June  16,  1869.  The 
regiment  also  paraded  in  honor  of  Gen.  Philip  H.  Sheridan, 
when  he  visited  Boston. 

A  new  company,  the  Claflin  Guards  of  Newton,  was  or- 
ganized in  1870,  and  in  1872  became  the  7th  Company. 

As  a  result  of  the  Civil  War  the  kepi  and  felt  hat  had 
been  introduced  into  the  bill-of -dress,  and  the  five-button 
blouse  had  become  the  popular  coat;  the  felt  hat  was  a 
revival  of  a  pattern  common  in  old  Colonial  days.  In  1869 
the  regiment  profited  by  a  new  feeling  on  the  part  of  the 
legislature  that  a  good  militia  was  worth  the  expenditure 
of  a  little  money ;  for  at  that  time  the  state  began  to  make 
an  allowance  toward  the  purchase  of  uniforms.  $20.00 
was  paid  for  each  man — not  enough  to  buy  a  uniform,  but 
far  better  than  nothing.  Since  their  experience  at  Bull  Run 
in  1861,  the  regiment  had  worn  blue;  now,  however,  they 
returned  to  the  gray  uniforms  of  1859.  Breech-loading 
rifles  were  issued  in  1872. 

The  year  1872  brought  the  most  prolonged  tour  of  duty 
for  the  maintenance  of  public  order,  if  we  except  Shays' 


1866-1878  83 


rebellion,  that  the  regiment  ever  had.  Boston  was  then  a 
city  of  frame  buildings,  standing  close  together,  and  sepa- 
rated by  very  narrow  streets.  On  Nov.  II,  fire  broke  out, 
and  speedily  grew  uncontrollable  by  reason  of  high  winds. 
When  after  three  days  of  horror,  the  devouring  flames  were 
finally  stayed  in  their  work  of  destruction,  old  Boston  lay 
in  ashes. 

Thieves,  thugs  and  criminals  of  every  sort  are  prompt 
to  congregate  in  seasons  of  public  calamity.  When  society 
is  threatened  by  such  a  danger  as  conflagration,  its  ordinary 
police  precautions  break  down;  and  people  are  helpless  to 
protect  their  property  or  even  their  lives.  All  the  militia  in 
Boston  were  immediately  called  out  to  help  rescue  endan- 
gered lives,  and  to  protect  the  panic-stricken  fugitives. 
Where  everyone  is  suspicious  of  everyone  else,  a  man  in 
uniform  is  the  only  one  able  to  render  any  aid.  Victims  of 
the  fire  would  not  allow  a  stranger  in  civilian  clothes  so 
much  as  to  assist  them  to  places  of  safety,  for  fear  of  vio- 
lence and  robbery.  The  troops  were  kept  on  duty  during 
thirteen  days,  the  latter  part  of  the  period  being  devoted  to 
guarding  the  ruins  and  aiding  in  the  task  of  rehabilitation. 
One  picturesque  feature  of  the  regiment's  service  was  the 
escorting  across  the  city  of  treasure  valued  at  $14,000,000. 
No  other  call  to  duty  is  so  truly  a  test  of  military  readiness 
as  that  in  connection  with  a  fire,  coming  as  it  does  always 
without  the  slightest  previous  warning.  And  no  other  duty, 
performed  as  the  ist  Regiment  performed  it  in  1872,  does  so 
much  to  win  friends  for  the  organization,  and  for  the  Na- 
tional Guard  of  which  it  forms  a  part.  At  no  other  time 
does  the  National  Guardsman  appear  so  nearly  in  his  true 
role,  as  "a  soldier  of  peace." 

During  the  term  of  the  next  commander,  Col.  Henry  W. 
Wilson,  Dec.  12,  1872 — April  28,  1876,  the  regiment  felt  the 


84  The  Old  First 


effects  of  a  new  movement  for  military  efficiency.  Col.  Wil- 
son was  himself  a  Civil  War  veteran,  an  ex-Captain  in  the 
6th  Regiment.  But  he  believed  the  time  ripe  for  innovations 
and  improvements.  The  Civil  War  officers  were  growing 
too  old  for  active  service;  and  no  one  was  in  training  to 
take  their  place.  England,  with  a  military  system  not  essen- 
tially different  from  ours,  had  introduced  strict  principles 
of  instruction  for  her  volunteers  some  ten  years  previously, 
and  now  commenced  to  reap  beneficial  results. 

Consequently  the  1st  Regiment  welcomed  the  new  state 
muster-field,  first  opened  for  use  in  1873.  Framingham  at 
once  became  a  synonym  for  increased  efficiency;  that  very 
year  the  tour  of  camp  duty  was  lengthened  from  three  to 
four  days,  and  from  time  to  time  thereafter  successful  effort 
was  made  to  secure  further  extension.  Massachusetts  had 
the  proud  honor  of  leading  all  other  states  in  providing  a 
regular  state  camp-ground. 

Perhaps  because  so  many  "old  fellows"  were  bidding  fare- 
well to  active  military  life,  perhaps  for  other  reasons,  this 
was  an  age  of  sentimentalism  in  the  regimental  history.  On 
Dec.  17,  1873,  the  ist  Company  adopted  a  badge  or  medal 
for  use  with  full-dress  uniforms  and  also  on  civilian  clothes ; 
and  other  companies  were  so  favorably  impressed  by  the 
innovation  as  to  imitate  it.  Col.  Mathews  later  designed 
the  regimental  emblem  which  stands  on  the  cover  of  this 
book,  and  which  is  based  on  the  "white  diamond"  of  the 
old  "third  corps." 

Capt.  William  A.  Smith  of  the  ist  Company  was  an  en- 
thusiast about  rifle-shooting;  and  kept  agitating  the  matter 
with  a  view  to  inducing  Massachusetts  to  take  it  up.  Al- 
ready England  had  her  ranges  for  volunteers,  and  in  New 
York  the  Creedmoor  range  was  in  active  operation.  Capt. 
Smith  presented  many  excellent  reasons  why  small  arms 


1866-1878  85 


practice  should  be  made  part  of  the  militia  requirements. 
In  Colonial  days  every  farmer  was  a  good  shot — he  had  to 
be,  in  order  to  keep  down  "varmints"  and  to  keep  off  In- 
dians. But  when  the  state  became  fully  settled  the  reason 
for  popular  skill  in  shooting  ceased,  and  the  shooting  itself 
was  discontinued.  Thruout  the  Civil  War,  marksmanship 
was  a  neglected  factor  in  the  training  of  both  northern  and 
southern  armies.  By  1875  ^e  need  had  become  so  crying 
that  Capt.  Smith  and  others  succeeded  in  convincing  the 
Massachusetts  authorities.  As  soon  as  genuine  rifle  com- 
petitions were  authorized,  the  members  of  the  regiment,  and 
especially  of  the  ist  Company,  stirred  themselves  to  render 
the  matches  exciting;  as  a  consequence,  up  to  the  time  the 
regiment  became  interested  in  artillery,  it  was  noted  in  the 
state  for  success  in  small  arms  competitions.  From  the  ist 
Company  alone  went  out  two  such  shots  as  Col.  Horace  T. 
Rockwell  and  Major  Charles  W.  Hinman,  both  of  whom 
had  places  on  rifle  teams  which  went  to  England  and  repre- 
sented America  in  international  matches  held  in  1880,  1883 
and  1888.  After  1878  the  4th  and  I2th  Companies  also  won 
fame  with  the  rifle. 

The  annual  routine  of  a  militia  regiment — weekly  drills, 
two  or  more  field-days,  shooting,  one  or  two  weeks'  camp, 
etc. — keeps  the  members  busy  along  useful  lines.  But  it 
does  not  afford  a  historian  much  to  tell,  save  as  he  indicates 
the  steps  of  progress  from  year  to  year.  Parades,  on  the 
other  hand,  possess  some  romantic  and  popular  interest; 
and  it  is  hard  to  convince  laymen  that  they  have  almost  no 
military  value.  A  regiment  is  largely  judged  by  its  appear- 
ance on  parade.  In  Col.  Wilson's  time  there  chanced  to  be 
included  the  fateful  year,  1875,  when  eastern  Massachusetts 
celebrated  the  centennials  of  Concord  and  Bunker  Hill. 
With  President  Grant  present  from  Washington  on  April 


86  The  Old  First 


19,  there  were  "great  doings."  On  June  17  the  "crack"-est 
military  organizations  from  other  states  visited  Boston  to 
lend  "tone"  to  the  procession, — the  7th  N.  Y.,  the  5th  Md., 
the  ist  R.  L,  the  ist  and  2d  Pa.  That  day  Gen.  W.  T. 
Sherman  was  reviewing  officer.  Sherman's  war  experience 
had  trained  him  to  judge  troops.  He  was  forced  to  admit 
that  Boston's  parade  was  a  fine  military  display ;  and  he  had 
to  add  that  the  ist  Mass,  was  not  behind  the  best.  On  Nov. 
29,  1875,  by  a  singular  coincidence,  Col.  Wilson  was  called 
upon  to  parade  his  regiment  as  part  of  the  funeral  escort 
for  his  great  namesake,  the  late  Vice-President  Henry  Wil- 
son, who  was  interred  at  Natick. 

At  first  the  regiment  suffered  from  the  new  innovations. 
Its  older  members,  trained  in  the  hard  school  of  actual  war 
service  were  capable  soldiers  and  required  little  instruction ; 
and  the  younger  men  who  needed  more  training  were  only 
a  minority  in  point  of  numbers.  As  soon  as  it  became  evi- 
dent that  more  time  was  going  to  be  demanded  for  en- 
campments and  for  small-arms  practice,  many  older  soldiers 
applied  for  their  discharges.  As  the  ranks  grew  shorter  and 
thinner,  the  state  authorities  began  to  talk  of  disbanding 
companies,  just  as  they  had  always  been  accustomed  to  do. 
Finally  the  break  came.  Col.  Wilson  resigned  on  April  28, 
1876,  leaving  Lt.  Col.  Alfred  N.  Proctor  in  command;  and 
on  the  following  July  6,  the  regiment  was  reduced  to  the 
dimensions  of  a  battalion  and  was  redesignated  the  "ist  Bat- 
talion of  Infantry."  Lt.  Col.  Nathaniel  Wales,  who  was 
placed  in  command,  was  a  Civil  War  veteran  with  a  brilliant 
record.  He  had  enlisted  as  a  private  soldier,  had  served  in 
the  24th  Regiment,  the  32d,  and  finally  in  the  35th,  and  came 
out  of  the  war-service  a  Colonel.  It  is  highly  unusual  to 
pass  thru  so  many  grades  within  less  than  four  short  years. 
Furthermore,  Col.  Wales  was  said  to  have  been  the  youngest 


1866-1878  8; 


man  holding  the  rank  of  Colonel  at  the  time  he  attained  it. 
His  love  for  the  ist  Regiment  was  such  that  he  was  willing 
to  endure  a  reduction  of  rank  for  the  sake  of  re-establishing 
the  old  command  upon  a  secure  basis. 

A  company  of  the  3d  Regiment,  the  Cunningham  Rifles 
from  Brockton,  were  transferred  to  the  ist  Battalion  at  the 
time  of  the  reorganization  and  became  the  loth  Company. 
This  reorganization  was  by  no  means  limited  to  the  ist 
Regiment — it  was  state- wide  in  its  incidence.  The  ist  Bat- 
talion emerged  from  it  as  a  six-company  organization. 

One  or  more  companies  of  the  ist  made  the  trip  to  the 
Philadelphia  Centennial  in  1876,  and  to  the  Valley  Forge 
Centenary  the  year  following.  On  Sept.  17,  1877,  the  bat- 
talion participated  in  the  parade  and  ceremonies  connected 
with  the  dedication  of  the  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  monument 
on  Boston  Common.  The  companies  presented  a  fine  ap- 
pearance in  the  eyes  of  the  public ;  and  following  the  cele- 
bration dined  together  much  to  their  own  gratification.  New 
members  enlisted,  new  interest  began  to  be  manifest,  and 
there  was  a  feeling  that  the  present  reduced  condition  would 
be  only  temporary.  Col.  Wales  of  course  exerted  all  of  his 
influence  to  have  the  regiment  restored. 

Finally  the  legislature  responded  and  passed  an  act  creat- 
ing a  ist  Regiment  by  a  process  of  consolidation.  There 
were  four  companies  left  of  the  3d  Regiment,  then  forming 
the  3d  Battalion.  And  four  companies  represented  what 
had  originally  been  the  old  ist  Infantry  of  ante-bellum  days, 
now  organized  as  the  4th  Battalion.  So  the  legislature  trans- 
ferred the  Fusiliers  and  the  Claflin  Guards  to  the  5th,  the 
Chelsea  Rifles  to  the  8th,  and  consolidated  the  ist  Battalion, 
the  3d  Battalion  and  the  4th  Battalion,  as  the  "ist  Regi- 
ment," Col.  Nathaniel  Wales  commanding.  The  date  of  this 
important  legislation  was  Dec.  3,  1878.  By  a  stroke  of 


88  The  Old  First 


genius  the  law-makers  had  created  a  twelve-company  regi- 
ment, organized  in  three  battalions  each  under  command  of 
a  Major ;  and  had  devised  a  new  plan  of  organization  which 
was  destined  to  work  so  well  that,  twenty  years  later,  Con- 
gress would  adopt  it  for  use  all  over  the  United  States.  As 
the  companies  from  the  3d  Regiment  were  located  in  Plym- 
outh and  Bristol  counties,  they  introduced  a  new  geographi- 
cal element  into  the  ist.  Thereafter  "The  Cape"  was  to 
stand  side  by  side  with  Boston,  and  right  nobly  were  the 
Cape  companies  to  uphold  the  regimental  traditions. 


CHAPTER   VII 
THE    OLD   "TIGER"    FIRST 

It  now  becomes  necessary  to  go  back  and  trace  out  the 
origins  of  the  organizations  which  were  consolidated  with 
the  ist  Regiment  in  1878.  Let  us  first  give  attention  to  the 
companies  which  bore  the  title  of  4th  Battalion.  We  shall 
discover  a  battalion  or  regimental  history  stretching  back 
to  1834,  and  company  records  commencing  as  early  as  1787. 

Three  "independent  companies"  of  infantry  were  listed 
in  the  roster  of  1788  as  connected  with  the  ist  Division, 
Suffolk.  One  of  these  disappeared  from  the  records  the 
following  year,  and  another  in  1792.  The  lone  survivor  yet 
survives — in  fact  is  the  3d  Company,  M.  C.  A.,  otherwise 
known  as  the  Independent  Boston  Fusiliers. 

On  May  u,  1787,  the  Governor's  Council  voted  to  approve 
an  application  signed  by  Thomas  Adams  and  fifty- three 
others,  and  to  charter  a  company.  Gov.  James  Bowdoin 
presided  at  the  Council  meeting  and  himself  introduced  the 
petition.  On  the  following  July  4,  he  stood  with  the  mem- 
bers of  the  new  company  on  the  slope  of  Bunker  Hill  and, 
at  that  shrine  of  American  liberty,  presented  them  their 
official  charter.  They  next  proceeded  to  the  home  of  John 
Hancock,  soon  to  be  Governor,  and  at  his  liberal  table,  as  his 
guests,  enjoyed  an  inaugural  dinner.  The  Fusiliers  have 
excelled  in  many  military  lines  thruout  their  long  and  honor- 
able history — by  no  means  least  of  their  attainments  is  the 
masterly  skill  with  which  they  have  maintained  the  custom 
of  dining  together.  Their  motto,  Aut  vincere  aut  mori, 
seemed  high-sounding  in  the  early  years.  "Conquer  or  die" 


90  The  Old  First 


presented  harsh  alternatives.  But  the  time  was  to  come 
seventy-five  years  later  when  the  nation  needed  just  such 
stern,  self-sacrificing  devotion;  and  then  the  Fusiliers  in- 
deed lived  up  to  their  motto.  The  Fusiliers  wore  red  coats, 
in  commemoration  of  certain  gallant  foemen  with  whom 
America  had  recently  been  engaged.  As  the  Cadets  were 
then  clad  in  white  and  another  company  in  blue,  a  striking 
patriotic  ensemble  was  produced  by  the  grouping  of  uni- 
forms whenever  the  independent  companies  paraded.  Wil- 
liam Turner  was  elected  the  first  Fusilier  Captain ;  the  names 
of  his  successors  are  recorded  elsewhere  in  this  book.  No 
wonder  that  the  Fusiliers,  actives  or  veterans,  have  always 
been  noted  for  maintaining  the  most  successful  and  distin- 
guished military  ball  in  all  Boston,  the  military-social  event 
of  the  year;  for  their  first  Captain  was,  by  profession, 
a  dancing-master.  Capt.  Turner  was  succeeded  by  Capt. 
Joseph  Laughton,  who  when  not  on  militia  duty,  was  occu- 
pied as  a  clerk  in  the  Treasurer's  office. 

After  1798  the  Fusiliers  were  never  without  vigorous  and 
congenial  companionship.  Enthusiasm  was  then  in  full 
flood ;  George  Washington  had  shown  his  patriotism  by  con- 
senting to  accept  a  subordinate  position,  that  of  Lieutenant 
General  of  the  army  under  President  John  Adams ;  and  men 
were  enrolling  themselves  in  the  new  legionary  brigade. 
America  was  aflame  with  indignation  over  French  injustice. 
On  September  4,  1798,  the  Boston  Light  Infantry  was  or- 
ganized after  four  months  of  preliminary  meetings — the 
body  which  today  reports  to  the  Adjutant  as  the  2d  Com- 
pany, M.  C.  A.  Their  motto,  "Death  or  an  honorable  life," 
is  a  ringing  echo  of  Charles  C.  Pinckney's  immortal  words, 
"Millions  for  defence;  not  one  cent  for  tribute."  At  the 
first  banquet  of  the  company,  Oct.  18,  1798,  when  the  charter 
was  received,  the  principal  toast  was — "The  United  States 


The  Old  "Tiger"  First  91 

of  America;  as  they  have  drawn  the  sword  of  justice  with 
reason,  may  they  never  sheathe  it  with  disgrace."  Would 
that  this  sentiment  might  always  prevail  with  the  authorities 
in  Washington !  Amongst  the  members  present  at  this  ban- 
quet were  sons  or  near  relatives  of  such  patriots  as  Paul 
Revere,  James  Otis  and  Joseph  Warren.  Truly  the  sons 
were  rallying  about  the  standard  of  the  fathers.  Drills  were 
first  held  in  the  old  State  House,  and  after  1802  in  Faneuil 
Hall. 

There  were  lovers  of  Shakespeare  in  the  Boston  Light 
Infantry.  At  a  dinner  in  1815  one  of  them  gave  point  to  his 
speech  by  quoting  the  words  of  Henry  V,  hero  of  Agincourt : 

"  In  peace,  there's  nothing  so  becomes  a  man, 
As  modest  stillness,  and  humility: 
But  when  the  blast  of  war  blows  in  our  ears, 
Then  imitate  the  action  of  the  tiger." 

All  of  the  speech  was  forgotten  except  the  final  words  of 
the  quotation,  "The  tiger!"  Company  orators  kept  repeat- 
ing the  expression.  Ere  long  the  Boston  Light  Infantry 
found  itself  provided  with  a  nickname — and  it  is  best  known 
thruout  its  long  history  as  "The  Tigers." 

In  1800  the  Fusiliers  under  Capt.  John  Brazer  and  the 
Tigers,  Capt.  Daniel  Sargent  (a  merchant  in  civil  life), 
were  the  two  light  infantry  companies  constituting  the  sub- 
legion  of  light  infantry — both  being  entirely  independent. 
Indeed  the  sub-legion  of  light  infantry  had  no  field  officer 
until  Feb.  14,  1806,  when  Capt.  Daniel  Messinger  of  the 
Winslow  Blues  was  elected  Major.  The  Blues  were  organ- 
ized in  1799  and  first  appeared  on  the  sub-legion  roster  in 
1802.  The  Washington  Light  Infantry  were  organized 
in  1803. 

Wher  in  1810  the  legionary  brigade  was  transformed  into 


92  The  Old  First 


the  3d  Brigade,  1st  Division,  Maj.  Messinger's  sub-legion 
of  light  infantry  was  broken  up  and  the  companies  were 
distributed  amongst  the  infantry  regiments  of  the  brigade. 
The  Fusiliers  and  the  Washington  Lt.  Inf.  were  incorpor- 
ated with  the  ist  Reg.,  the  Tigers  with  the  2d,  and  the 
Winslow  Blues  with  the  3d.  These  infantry  regiments, 
former  "legionaries,"  were  neither  train-band  militia  nor 
independent  uniformed  volunteers.  Their  status  was  some- 
where between  the  two;  it  was  hoped  that  the  light  in- 
fantry companies  might  serve  as  leaven  for  the  infantry, 
and  bring  all  up  to  the  volunteer  standard.  The  arrange- 
ment continued  until  1834.  By  that  time  it  was  clear  that 
only  the  independent  companies,  the  "light"  infantry,  re- 
tained any  vitality;  and  they  were  separated  from  the  in- 
fantry regiments,  and  organized  into  a  separate  "Regiment 
of  Light  Infantry,  3d  Brigade." 

Non-commissioned  officers  of  the  light  infantry  companies 
manifested  active  interest  in  the  training  school,  "The  Soul 
of  the  Soldiery,"  from  1811  until  1819  and  later. 

Another  company  was  born  amid  the  war  excitement  of 
1812,  the  New  England  Guards.  Even  from  the  days  of 
their  first  Captain,  Samuel  Swett,  it  was  felt  that  a  distin- 
guished destiny  awaited  the  organization.  During  their  entire 
half  century  of  existence,  they  made  constant  effort  to  main- 
tain their  personnel  at  the  highest  standard;  and  the  effort 
was  crowned  with  success.  An  extant  lithograph,  in  the 
museum  of  the  A.  &  H.  Art.  Co.,  shows  the  Guards  in  the 
year  1836  parading  with  four  platoons  of  twelve  files  each — 
numbers  indicative  of  the  company's  popularity.  They 
were  added  to  the  2d  Regiment,  and  thereafter  were  asso- 
ciated with  the  Tigers. 

During  the  war  with  England  the  light  infantry  companies 
rendered  service  at  the  harbor  forts  similar  to  that  of  the 


The  Old  "Tiger"  First  93 

artillery.  By  request  of  the  commandant  of  the  Charles- 
town  Navy  Yard,  the  New  England  Guards  were  stationed 
at  the  Chelsea  bridge  for  eleven  days  from  June  13,  1814, 
in  order  to  prevent  an  expected  raid  by  a  hostile  landing 
party.  The  entire  membership  of  the  Fusiliers  was  on  duty 
from  Sept.  12  until  Oct.  10,  under  Capt.  Gerry  Fairbanks 
(a  hatter  in  civil  life)  ;  and  detachments  continued  doing 
garrison  duty  several  weeks  longer.  The  Tigers  helped  to 
build  Ft.  Strong  on  Jeffries  Point,  East  Boston;  similar 
activity  characterized  the  other  companies.  Massachusetts' 
crest  is  a  sword  borne  by  the  arm  of  a  civilian :  Massachu- 
setts citizens  in  1814  bore  the  sword  effectively  and  well. 

The  light  infantry  companies  participated  in  the  same 
parades  and  public  festal  occasions  as  did  the  artillery  com- 
panies. These  events  are  elsewhere  described  in  sufficient 
detail.  In  the  sterner  task  of  maintaining  public  order  the 
New  England  Guards  were  on  duty  twice — July  7,  1824, 
and  Feb.  n,  1825, — in  connection  with  conflagrations.  In 
both  instances  personal  property  had  been  saved  from  the 
fire  and  temporarily  deposited  in  a  place  of  safety ;  and  the 
troops  mounted  guard  against  pillagers.  The  Tigers  sub- 
scribed the  first  $100  toward  the  cost  of  Bunker  Hill 
monument. 

From  the  disbandment  of  Maj.  Messinger's  battalion  in 
1810  until  the  organization  of  the  regiment  of  light  infantry 
in  1834,  the  companies  of  light  infantry  were  associated  only 
in  the  larger  unit  of  the  3d  Brigade.  While  the  Coast  Ar- 
tillery includes  all  the  surviving  units  of  that  Brigade,  and 
altho  the  3d  Brigade  was  the  most  solid  and  efficient  part  of 
the  old  militia,  still  it  does  not  seem  wise  to  treat  Brigade 
history  in  particular  detail.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  four  strong 
companies  of  light  infantry  continued  active  in  the  infantry 
regiments  of  the  brigade — the  Fusiliers  in  the  ist  Regiment, 


94  The  Old  First 


the  Tigers  and  the  New  England  Guards  in  the  2d,  and  the 
Winslow  Blues  in  the  3d.  Lists  of  company  commanders 
are  recorded  elsewhere.  A  new  branch  of  the  service  came 
into  existence,  the  "Rifles,"  and  were  accorded  precedence 
over  others — were  given  the  right  of  the  line  in  parades.  In 
appearance  they  differed  from  other  troops,  as  they  wore 
jaunty  green  uniforms,  and  carried  short  flint-lock  rifles 
without  bayonets.  These  riflemen  aimed  to  reproduce  the 
famous  corps  under  Daniel  Morgan  and  others  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  the  frontiersmen  and  rangers  clad  in  buck- 
skin hunting-shirts  who  were  so  terrifying  to  America's 
enemies.  It  has  always  seemed  strange  to  the  writer  that 
the  frontiersman's  costume,  the  only  distinctively  American 
garb  ever  devised,  should  not  continue  in  use.  Not  even 
these  new  riflemen,  however,  succeeded  in  remaining  true  to 
type.  While  they  were  fond  of  picturing  themselves  in  the 
hunting-shirt,  the  uniforms  which  they  actually  wore  fol- 
lowed German  models.  One  valuable  contribution  the  new 
rifles  did  make  to  militia  life,  they  were  pioneers  in  setting 
up  target  practice  as  part  of  the  soldier's  training. 

Light  infantry  and  rifles  were  distinguished  from  other 
infantry  by  the  fact  that  they  were  trained  in  the  skirmish 
drill,  and  were  alone  qualified  to  perform  outpost  duty.  In 
line,  they  formed  on  the  flanks  of  other  companies.  From 
time  to  time  additional  commands  aspired  to  become  light 
infantry,  and  some  realized  their  aspirations.  By  1834  there 
were  eight  companies  altogether  in  the  infantry  regiments 
who  felt  dissatisfied  with  their  regimental  connection,  and 
resented  the  waning  interest  which  regimental  neighbors 
displayed  in  things  military.  Their  plan  was  to  separate 
from  the  infantry,  and  revive  the  old  battalion  of  light  in- 
fantry, whose  members  should  all  be  volunteers  and  uni- 
formed, the  battalion  which  had  been  broken  up  in  1810 — 


The  Old  "Tiger"  First  95 

in  short,  to  organize  a  Light  Infantry  Regiment  in  the  3d 
Brigade.  From  the  ist  Regiment  came  the  Fusiliers,  the 
Washington  Lt.  Infantry  and  the  Mechanic  Rifles ;  from  the 
2d  the  Tigers  and  the  New  England  Guards;  and  from 
the  3d  the  Winslow  Blues,  the  City  Guards  (organized  Sept. 
21,  1821),  and  the  Rifle  Rangers  (organized  1820).  In 
1835  a  new  company  was  added,  the  Lafayette  Gds. 

The  new  regiment  was  organized  in  Aug.,  1834,  with 
eight  companies,  and  Col.  Amasa  G.  Smith  of  the  2d  Regi- 
ment was  elected  to  command.  A  succession  of  field  officers, 
which  had  begun  in  1806  with  Major  Messinger  and  had  been 
interrupted  from  1810  until  1834,  was  thereafter  to  be  con- 
tinuous. Col.  Smith's  commission  was  dated  July  29,  1834; 
he  continued  in  command  until  Feb.  23,  1838. 

Judged  by  the  standards  of  the  day,  Col.  Smith's  regiment 
was  a  very  fine  one,  indeed  was  a  "crack"  command.  No 
less  an  authority  than  President  Andrew  Jackson  is  reported 
to  have  testified,  "I  have  never  seen  its  equal."  Most  of  the 
companies  wore  blue  swallow-tail  coats  and  white  duck 
trousers — the  latter  quite  regardless  of  weather;  gradually 
blue  nether  garments  were  added  for  use  on  stormy  days. 
The  two  rifle  companies  wore  green,  the  Rangers  having 
frock  coats  and  uhlan  hats ;  while  extant  engravings  of  the 
City  Guards  in  1844,  the  year  of  their  famous  march  to  Bal- 
timore, show  them  clad  in  gray  suits  of  a  pattern  precisely 
the  same  as  those  worn  by  the  New  York  7th.  The  City 
Guards  were  the  first  corps  to  wear  gray  in  Boston;  and 
the  Fusiliers  were  equally  distinguished  by  reason  of  their 
scarlet  coats.  While  there  was  lack  of  regimental  uniform- 
ity, there  must  have  been  a  striking  ensemble  when  the  com- 
panies formed  battalion  line. 

To  the  Fusiliers,  in  June,  1835,  fell  the  honor  of  introduc- 
ing an  important  tradition  into  the  regiment.  For  at  that 


96  The  Old  First 


time,  after  a  year's  preparation,  they  undertook  an  excursion 
to  Washington,  as  a  compliment  to  President  Andrew  Jack- 
son, who  was  soon  to  give  place  to  Martin  Van  Buren.  The 
start  was  made  after  partaking  of  a  collation  at  Gov.  John 
Davis'  house;  progress  was  made  by  march,  stage,  steam- 
boat and  rail ;  they  camped  on  Capitol  Hill ;  and  dined  with 
Gen.  Jackson  at  the  White  House.  This  was  not  exactly  a 
trip  to  "the  inauguration,"  but  it  proved  to  be  the  commence- 
ment of  a  custom  which  today  takes  the  command  to  Wash- 
ington once  every  four  years. 

In  1837  a  company  came  into  existence  which  was  destined 
to  prove  the  temporary  undoing  of  the  Light  Infantry  Regi- 
ment, and  was  also  to  subject  Boston's  spirit  of  fairness 
and  right  to  its  most  searching  test.  The  "Montgomery 
Guards,"  they  were  called.  Altho  named  after  the  same 
heroic  Richard  Montgomery  who  was  to  give  title  to  another 
and  more  famous  company  of  Montgomery  Guards  fifteen 
years  later,  they  must  not  be  confused  with  the  latter  body. 
The  critical  point  was  that  the  members  were  all  of  Irish 
birth ;  and  Boston,  for  the  first  time  in  sixty  years,  found  a 
company  of  foreign  soldiery  in  her  midst.  At  least  that  was 
the  view  of  the  matter  taken  by  old-timers.  The  race  preju- 
dice which  later  issued  in  the  Know  Nothing  movement,  at 
once  flamed  up.  On  the  other  hand,  these  guardsmen  had 
all  declared  their  intention  of  becoming  American  citizens, 
and  were  entitled  to  bear  arms.  The  guards  were  attached 
to  Col.  Smith's  regiment.  On  Sept.  12,  1837,  the  date  of 
the  fall  field-day  and  the  first  assembly  of  the  regiment 
since  the  organization  of  the  Montgomerys,  the  other  nine 
companies  took  post  on  the  regimental  line, — the  Mont- 
gomerys arriving  last  of  all.  No  sooner  had  the  latter  swung 
into  position  than  the  enlisted  men  of  the  City  Guards,  break- 
ing away  from  their  officers,  marched  off  the  Common. 


The  Old  "Tiger"  First 97 

The  enlisted  men  of  the  Fusiliers,  the  Blues,  the  Mechanics, 
the  Washingtons  and  the  Lafayettes  followed  this  example 
of  insubordination  and  broke  ranks.  It  was  sheer  mutiny — 
mutiny  with  which  many  of  the  public  sympathized,  but 
mutiny  nevertheless. 

Courts  martial  resulted,  followed  by  prolonged  public 
discussion.  Presently  it  became  evident  that  the  Boston 
sense  of  fairness  and  right  was  strong  enough  even  to  meet 
this  test;  and  on  Feb.  23,  1838,  the  offending  companies  were 
punished  by  disbandment.  Col.  Smith  went  out  of  office  at 
this  time.  The  Montgomery  Guards  were  themselves  dis- 
banded April  6,  1838.  As  a  consequence  the  Regiment  was 
reduced  to  a  battalion  and  placed  under  the  command  of 
Maj.  Charles  C.  Paine.  The  Tigers,  the  New  England 
Guards,  and  the  Rifle  Rangers  alone  survived  the  disband- 
ment. 

June  i,  1839,  found  the  organization  a  regiment  once 
more,  made  up  of  the  following  companies:  Tigers,  New 
England  Guards,  Pulaski  Guards,  who  now  transferred 
from  the  3d  Reg.,  3d  Bri.  (and  who  seem  to  have  been 
temporarily  called  Mechanic  Greys  in  1849),  Columbian 
Greys,  Hancock  Light  Infantry,  Rifle  Rangers,  Highland 
Guards  and  Suffolk  Light  Guard.  As  the  disbandment 
had  been  intended  for  punitive  purposes  merely,  encour- 
agement was  held  out  for  the  companies  to  reorganize. 
The  device  of  reorganizing  and  "continuing  the  record" 
was  not  then  thought  of.  Had  it  been,  it  would  doubtless 
have  been  ordered;  four  companies  took  advantage  of  the 
opportunity.  The  Columbian  Greys  were  merely  the  old 
City  Guards  under  a  new  name;  in  1844  they  appeared  on 
the  records  as  the  City  Greys,  and  by  1851  were  known  once 
more  as  City  Guards.  Similarly  the  Hancock  Light  In- 
fantry continued  the  Fusiliers,  the  ancient  corps  being  saved 


98  The  Old  First 


by  the  loyalty  of  two  former  captains.  Noah  Lincoln,  Jr., 
a  prominent  Boston  shipwright,  was  in  command  of  the 
company  when  disbanded  in  1838.  On  a  May  date  in  1839 
the  Hancock  Light  Infantry  elected  the  same  Capt.  Lincoln 
to  be  their  commander;  but  he  did  not  deem  it  best  to 
accept.  On  May  17,  1839,  the  company  proceeded  to  elect 
Louis  Dennis,  a  former  Captain  of  Fusiliers  who  had  risen 
to  field  rank;  and  Maj.  Dennis  proved  his  loyalty  to  the  old 
corps  by  accepting  a  commission  as  Captain.  Maj.  Dennis 
was  a  builder  in  civil  life,  and  felt  that  the  present  emergency 
called  for  constructive  work  along  military  lines ;  Capt.  Lin- 
coln thereupon  agreed  to  become  ist  Lieutenant  of  the  com- 
pany. After  four  or  five  years  we  cease  to  find  reference 
to  the  Hancock  Light  Infantry — the  records  again  deal  with 
the  Fusiliers.  The  Mechanic  Rifles  similarly  reorganized  in 
1843,  and  the  Washington  Light  Infantry  a  few  years  sub- 
sequently. Col.  Charles  R.  Lowell,  formerly  Captain  of  the 
Rifle  Rangers,  commanded  the  reorganized  regiment  from 
June  I,  1839,  until  March  20,  1840. 

On  April  24,  1840,  in  connection  with  the  general  state- 
wide reorganization  of  the  militia  and  the  discontinuance  of 
the  train-band,  the  Light  Infantry  Regiment,  3d  Brigade, 
received  a  number — it  became  the  ist  Lt.  Inf.,  ist  Brigade. 
The  following  colonels  commanded:  George  W.  Phillips, 
Aug.  27,  1840 — May  18,  1841;  Charles  A.  Macomber  (for- 
merly captain  of  the  disbanded  City  Guards),  June  15,  1841 
— Aug.  24,  1841 ;  George  T.  Bigelow,  formerly  captain  of  the 
New  England  Guards,  Sept.  n,  1841 — Jan.  23,  1844;  Wil- 
liam H.  Spooner,  April  15,  1844 — Jan.  19,  1847,  tne  same 
Col.  Spooner  who  had  commanded  the  train-band  regiment, 
the  ist  of  the  ist  Brigade,  to  which  the  Roxbury  Artillery 
was  temporarily  attached  in  1832;  Benjamin  F.  Edmands, 
March  15,  1847 — July  n,  1848  (then  elected  Brig.  Gen.); 


The  Old  "Tiger"  First  99 

Col.  Samuel  Andrews,  a  former  captain  of  the  Tigers,  July 
28,  1848 — May  13,  1850,  when  he  became  Brig.  Gen. 

When  the  New  York  7th  visited  Boston  in  June,  1843, 
they  were  guests  of  the  Fusiliers  (yet  called  Hancock  Light 
Infantry).  After  church  services  on  Sunday,  June  18,  the 
visitors  were  shown  around  to  the  chief  points  of  interest. 
How  fashions  do  change!  The  principal  shrine  to  which 
pilgrimage  was  made  was — Mt.  Auburn  Cemetery. 

Veterans  of  the  Mexican  War  organized  a  company  in  the 
ist  Regiment  on  June  18,  1849,  to  which  they  gave  the  title, 
National  Guards;  and  were  the  recognized  representatives 
of  the  ist  Mass.  Mexican  War  Regiment.  Ben  Perley  Poore, 
a  prominent  newspaper  correspondent,  was  elected  Captain. 
As  it  became  difficult  to  secure  a  sufficient  number  of  Mexi- 
can veterans  in  Boston,  admission  was  granted  to  all  militia 
veterans,  after  a  few  years.  Capt.  Poore  presently  removed 
from  Boston  for  business  reasons,  and  made  his  residence 
in  Newburyport.  There  he  became  famous  as  Major  of  an 
independent  battalion  of  infantry;  and  altho  absent  from 
his  Boston  comrades,  continued  to  retain  a  warm  place  in 
their  hearts.  In  Nov.,  1856,  he  had  made  an  election  bet 
with  Col.  J.  J.  Burbank,  proprietor  of  the  Tremont  House, 
Boston,  to  the  effect  that  Millard  Fillmore  would  get  the 
Massachusetts  electoral  vote  for  President ;  and  lost.  So  on 
Saturday,  Nov.  8,  he  paid  the  forfeit — by  wheeling  a  barrel 
of  apples,  on  a  wheelbarrow,  all  the  way,  thirty-six  miles, 
from  Newburyport  to  Boston.  Maj.  Poore's  popularity 
caused  a  wide-spread  interest  to  develop  in  this  feat ;  espe- 
cially in  Boston  were  the  streets  thronged  with  friendly 
spectators.  When  the  Fusiliers  learned  of  the  plan,  they 
determined  to  have  a  part  in  it;  so  the  doughty  Major, 
himself  in  citizen's  dress,  was  met  in  Charlestown  by  a 
company  of  thirty-four  red-coated  soldiers,  and  solemnly 


ioo  The  Old  First 


escorted  across  the  bridge  into  Boston.  Then,  as  a  slight 
recompense  for  all  the  fun  which  had  been  provided,  when 
the  procession  arrived  at  the  Tremont  House,  the  apples 
were  sold  at  $1.00  apiece,  for  the  benefit  of  the  man  who  had 
transported  them.  Maj.  Poore's  portrait,  as  well  as  two  pic- 
tures of  the  event,  are  today  in  the  A.  &  H.  Art.  Company 
museum. 

When  on  April  25,  1842,  the  companies  received  distin- 
guishing letters,  the  Tigers  became  Co.  A,  the  New  England 
Guards  B,  the  Pulaski  Guards  C,  the  Highland  Guards  D, 
the  City  Guards  E,  the  Fusiliers  F,  the  Suffolk  Lt.  Gds.  G, 
the  Washington  Phalanx  H,  the  Rifle  Rangers  I,  and  a 
company  of  rifles  K. 

Charles  L.  Holbrook  became  Colonel  on  Aug.  31,  1850, 
and  continued  in  command  until  Aug.  15,  1854;  William 
Schouler,  destined  to  be  the  great  Civil  War  Adjutant  Gen- 
eral of  Massachusetts,  was  Lieutenant  Colonel.  To  Col. 
Holbrook  fell  the  painful  duty  of  marshalling  his  regiment 
against  the  mob  on  June  2,  1854,  at  the  time  of  the  Burns 
riot.  In  that  year  the  organization  consisted  of  eight  com- 
panies. To  him  also  fell  the  more  congenial  privilege,  in 
Oct.,  1862,  of  leading  his  command,  the  same  regiment  but 
then  known  as  the  43d  Mass.  Vols.,  during  its  campaign  in 
North  Carolina.  Col.  Holbrook  was,  in  civil  life,  a  book- 
keeper, first  in  the  Suffolk  National  Bank,  and  subsequently 
in  the  Custom  House;  as  a  soldier  he  jumped  from  the 
Adjutant's  office  to  the  Colonelcy. 

Owing  to  the  formation  of  new  companies  it  became  de- 
sirable to  organize  an  additional  battalion  of  infantry  in 
1853,  to  which  the  number  3d  was  given.  This  included 
Capt.  Poore's  National  Guards  as  Co.  A,  the  Union  Guards 
of  East  Boston,  organized  in  1852,  as  Co.  B,  and  the  Sars- 


The  Old  "Tiger"  First  cor 

field  Guards  as  Co.  C,  all  under  command  of  Maj.  Robert 
I.  Burbank. 

Col.  Thomas  E.  Chickering  commanded  the  ist  Regiment 
from  Oct.  25,  1854,  until  Jan.  29,  1856;  and  during  his  ad- 
ministration the  name  of  the  organization  was  changed  from 
Light  Infantry  to  "Infantry."  Col.  Chickering  commanded 
the  41  st  Mass.  Inf.,  which  became  the  3d  Cavalry,  1862-1865, 
and  served  in  the  department  of  the  Gulf,  transferring  to 
Gen.  P.  H.  Sheridan  in  Virginia  during  1864.  In  1855  the 
3d  Battalion  of  Infantry  disbanded,  the  National  and  Union 
Guards  going  into  the  2d  Regiment  as  gth  and  6th  Cos.  re- 
spectively, while  the  Sarsfield  Guards  passed  out  of  exist- 
ence. The  transfer  of  two  strong  companies  to  the  2d  was 
a  sign  that  the  latter  regiment  was  increasing  while  the  ist 
decreased.  Six  years  later  the  2d  was  to  receive  the  much- 
desired  number  which  had  thitherto  belonged  to  the  "ist." 
Maj.  Joseph  Bradley  had  become  commander  of  the  3d  Bat- 
talion at  the  time  of  its  disbanding. 

Col.  Robert  I.  Burbank,  formerly  of  the  3d  Battalion,  was 
the  last  commander  of  the  old  ist  Regiment,  serving  from 
March  25,  1856,  until  March  2,  1859.  '^ne  regiment  had 
several  strong  companies  and  might  have  been  the  leading 
military  body  in  Boston;  but  it  suffered  from  an  excess 
of  company  loyalty  and  an  utter  absence  of  regimental  spirit. 
Moreover  there  was  a  tendency  to  elect  men  of  political 
prominence  to  the  chief  command,  with  slight  regard  for 
their  military  talents.  Colonels  were  changed  too  frequently. 
The  2d  Regiment  under  Cols.  Bullock  and  Cowdin  presented 
a  striking  contrast  to  the  ist  in  these  particulars.  The  mili- 
tary authorities,  since  they  recognized  the  inevitable  ten- 
dency of  the  times,  disbanded  the  ist  Regiment,  and  trans- 
ferred four  of  the  seven  companies  to  the  2d,  on  March  i, 
1859.  The  companies  to  enter  the  2d  Regiment  were:  C, 


The  Old  First 


the  Pulaski  Guards;  D,  the  Washington  Light  Guard; 
F,  the  Fusiliers ;  and  H,  the  Mechanic  Rifles ;  these  became 
the  4th,  2d,  3d,  and  5th  Companies  in  Col.  Cowdin's  regi- 
ment. The  three  companies  remaining  of  the  old  ist — the 
Tigers,  the  New  England  Guards,  and  the  City  Guards — 
were  reorganized  as  the  2d  Battalion  of  Infantry,  under 
command  of  Maj.  Charles  O.  Rogers,  former  captain  of  the 
Tigers.  The  latter  command  were  highly  prosperous  at  this 
time;  in  1858  we  find  them  giving  the  first  grand  ball  ever 
held  in  the  Music  Hall,  and  a  year  later  enlarging  the  scope 
of  their  social  activities  by  moving  the  function  into  the 
Boston  Theater,  the  first  such  event  ever  held  in  that  cele- 
brated amusement  center. 

Sentiment  assumed  striking  forms  in  the  military  life  of 
Boston  during  the  years  preceding  the  Civil  War.  Two 
visiting  military  bodies,  the  New  York  7th  in  1857  and  the 
Ellsworth  Zouaves  from  Chicago  in  July,  1860,  presented 
such  examples  of  military  efficiency  that  a  desire  grew  up — 
was  encouraged  by  the  Adjutant  General — for  the  formation 
of  a  "crack"  regiment  in  Boston.  At  the  same  time,  the 
designation,  "4th  Battalion,"  came  to  be  coveted  and  sought 
after.  The  reason  for  the  latter  sentiment  is  obscure ;  there 
never  had  been  a  4th  Battalion  in  Boston,  never  any  of 
prominence  in  Massachusetts.  But  the  old  sub-legion  of  Lt. 
Infantry  in  the  3d  Brigade,  standing  as  it  did  beside  three 
infantry  sub-legions,  and  brilliantly  outclassing  them,  had 
been  a  "4th  battalion"  of  which  all  Boston  was  proud.  From 
1859  on,  many  organizations  were  attempting  to  secure  the 
designation,  "4th  Battalion." 

The  2d  Battalion,  organized  March  i,  1859,  under  Maj. 
Rogers,  included  three  strong  companies,  and  might  have 
been  the  nucleus  of  the  desired  "crack"  organization;  how- 
ever the  units  did  not  cohere,  and  the  battalion  speedily  flew 


The  Old  "Tiger"  First  103 

to  pieces.  Maj.  Harrison  Ritchie  of  the  New  England  Gds. 
became  commander  July  21,  1860. 

Gen.  Samuel  H.  Leonard  had  removed  from  Worcester 
to  Boston  for  business  reasons,  and  had  thereby  lost  his 
brigade  in  the  former  county.  Becoming  associated  with 
Boston  military  men  who  were  ambitious  for  a  new  and 
highly  efficient  regiment,  he  placed  himself  at  the  head  of 
the  movement.  Ex-Gen.  Leonard  presently  succeeded  Capt. 
Clark  B.  Baldwin  in  command  of  the  Boston  Artillery,  and 
proceeded  to  transfer  that  company  from  Col.  Cowdin's  2d 
Regiment  to  a  new  battalion.  The  City  Guards  had  dis- 
banded Dec.  26,  1859,  and  most  of  the  members  went  into 
the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company ;  now  former 
members  of  the  City  Guards  were  reenlisted  and  consolidated 
with  the  Boston  Artillery.  Indeed  these  City  Guardsmen 
were  the  instigators  of  the  movement.  Capt.  Augustine 
Harlow  (a  printer  in  civil  life),  formerly  in  command  of 
the  National  Guards,  the  Qth  Company  of  the  2d  Reg., 
joined  in  the  movement  and  organized  a  new  company.  On 
Dec.  15,  1860,  Capt.  Leonard's  as  Co.  A,  Capt.  Harlow's  as 
Co.  D,  and  two  new  companies  designated  B  and  C  were 
associated  as  the  4th  Battalion.  At  length  the  much  desired 
numeral  was  in  use, — and  by  men  of  large  military  ability 
and  soaring  ambition.  Since  "rifles"  took  precedence  over 
other  branches,  the  new  battalion  became  "Rifles" ;  and  wore 
gray  Zouave  or  chasseur  uniforms.  We  have  seen  else- 
where how  this  movement  became  deflected  by  the  call  for 
volunteers,  and  ultimately  issued  in  the  splendid  I3th  Mass. 
Inf.  If  the  4th  Battalion  of  Rifles  did  not  become  a  "crack" 
regiment — it  achieved  a  nobler  destiny. 

On  March  n,  1861,  the  New  England  Guards  became  in- 
dependent of  Maj.  Ritchie's  2d  Battalion;  and  expanded 
their  organization  into  a  two-company  battalion,  for  which 


104  The  Old  First 


they  claimed  the  coveted  numeral,  becoming  the  4th  Bat- 
talion of  Infantry;  Capt.  Thomas  G.  Stevenson  of  the  New 
Englanders  became  Major,  and  was  in  fact  the  leader  of  the 
movement.  The  ensuing  month  brought  war  and  put  an 
end  to  the  militia  dreams.  On  April  25  Maj.  Stevenson's 
battalion  entered  upon  a  one-month  tour  of  volunteer  gar- 
rison duty  at  Ft.  Independence,  the  men  serving  without 
pay.  It  was  at  this  time  that  they  achieved  the  distinction 
of  "bringing  out"  the  most  famous  band-leader  of  the  gen- 
eration, Patrick  S.  Gilmore.  Gilmore's  music  and  the  fine 
marching  of  the  New  England  Guards  battalion  immediately 
brought  Maj.  Stevenson's  command  a  high  degree  of 
popularity. 

More  three-year  regiments  were  needed  in  the  autumn  of 
1 86 1,  and  members  of  the  New  England  Guards  battalion 
decided  to  enlist.  Upon  further  thought  it  seemed  wiser  to 
use  their  proved  skill  in  military  matters  in  a  higher  capacity 
— they  would  organize  a  new  regiment  of  recruits,  and 
themselves  go  as  officers.  With  the  approval  of  the  War 
Department,  accordingly,  the  24th  Mass.  Reg.  came  into 
existence,  having  Thomas  G.  Stevenson  as  Colonel  and  Gil- 
more  as  band-leader.  No  prophet  then  foresaw  the  future ; 
but  a  bronze  bas-relief  in  the  State  House  (erected  in  1905) 
today  reminds  us  of  the  record  of  heroic  service  in  North 
Carolina,  South  Carolina  and  Florida;  the  transfer  to  Vir- 
ginia May  i,  1864,  and  participation  with  the  Army  of  the 
James  in  the  operations  around  Petersburg  and  Richmond. 
Their  commander,  now  Gen.  Stevenson,  was  killed  in  battle 
at  Spotsylvania.  Gilmore  continued  with  his  regiment  as 
long  as  the  Government  permitted  regimental  bands — during 
the  entire  first  year  of  the  service. 

Members  of  the  New  England  Guards  who  were  unable, 
for  business  or  family  reasons,  to  go  for  three  years,  were 


The  Old  "Tiger"  First 105 

quick  to  respond,  in  the  autumn  of  1862,  to  the  call  for  nine- 
months  men.  Part  of  the  4th  Battalion  had  organized  and 
officered  the  24th  Regiment  (there  was  already  a  4th  Reg.) 
— clinging  to  the  coveted  numeral  others  now  raised  the  44th 
Reg.  and  followed  their  comrades — to  the  coast  of  North 
Carolina.  So  very  few  New  England  Guardsmen  were  left 
at  home  in  Boston  that  the  battalion  passed  out  of  existence 
— died  of  patriotism. 

Maj.  Ralph  W.  Newton,  former  captain  of  the  Tigers, 
succeeded  Maj.  Ritchie  in  command  of  the  2d  Battalion  on 
Apr.  17,  1 86 1,  and  continued  in  office  until  May  22,  1862. 
Nothing  remained  of  the  old  ist  Reg.,  or  of  the  2d  Bat., 
except  the  Tiger  company.  In  order  to  retain  the  battalion 
organization,  the  Tigers  sub-divided  into  three  companies. 
From  this  point  on  it  will  be  literally  correct  to  designate 
the  battalion  organization,  the  sole  surviving  remnant  of 
the  old  ist,  as  the  Tigers. 

On  April  29,  twelve  days  after  assuming  command,  Maj. 
Newton  moved  his  Tiger  battalion  to  Fort  Warren,  and  re- 
mained there  a  full  month  rendering  unpaid  volunteer  ser- 
vice. Owing  to  the  extreme  shortage  of  trained  soldiers, 
the  Government  was  glad  to  have  the  services  of  the  bat- 
talion at  Boston's  most  important  fort.  Old  Andrew 
Fletcher  has  claimed  that  the  song-writer  of  a  nation  is  more 
influential  even  than  the  law-maker.  So  far  as  this  is  true, 
the  2d  Company,  the  Tigers,  have  exerted  a  huge  national 
influence.  For  while  at  Warren,  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  their 
glee-club  to  originate  one  of  America's  greatest  war-songs, 
one  which  until  "Marching  thru  Georgia"  was  composed, 
stood  supreme,  the  song,  "John  Brown's  Body."  Both 
words  and  tune  trace  back  to  the  2d  Company.  The  tune 
is  an  adaptation  of  a  southern  revival  hymn  familiar  before 
the  war;  but  is  so  complete  a  revision  as  to  be  practically 


106  The  Old  First 


an  original  composition.  The  words  were  written  as  a  joke 
on  Private  John  Brown  of  the  Tigers,  who  always  seemed 
a  shining  mark  for  the  wit  of  his  comrades,  and  whose 
name  of  course  suggested  the  hero  of  Osawatomie  and 
Harper's  Ferry.  Fletcher  Webster's  regiment,  the  I2th, 
was  in  process  of  recruiting  at  Fort  Warren  that  month. 
This  song,  at  first  intended  humorously,  was  taken  up  in 
serious  earnest  by  Webster's  men,  was  sung  a  little  later  by 
them  as  they  marched  to  Bull  Run ;  and  within  a  year  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  in  blue  were  firing  their  enthusiasm  for 
battle  with  the  great  refrain,  "His  soul  is  marching  on." 

Ex-Col.  Charles  L.  Holbrook  proved  his  loyalty  to  his  old 
command  by  accepting  the  lower  office  of  Major  on  June 
23,  1862.  This  responsibility  he  did  not  lay  down  until  Oct. 
13,  1862,  when  he  led  the  43d  Reg.  to  war. 

To  the  Tigers,  as  to  others  of  Boston's  best  citizens,  the 
call  for  nine-months  men  came  as  a  personal  summons  to 
service.  Maj.  Holbrook's  2d  Battalion  at  once  began  enlist- 
ing recruits,  until  it  had  expanded  to  a  complete  ten-com- 
pany regiment.  Practically  all  the  officers  were  chosen  from 
the  Tiger  battalion;  and  the  new  regiment,  the  43d,  was 
known  as  the  "Tiger  Regiment."  The  ancient  title,  "Boston 
Light  Infantry,"  had  remained  attached  to  Co.  A  of  the 
2d  Battalion ;— now  the  "Lt.  Inf."  Co.  transferred  itself  bod- 
ily to  the  new  regiment,  and  became  Co.  A  of  the  43d.  Com- 
pany commanders  were :  A,  Henry  J.  Hallgreen ;  B,  Edward 
G.  Quincy ;  C,  William  B.  Fowle,  Jr. ;  D,  Thomas  G.  Whytal 
(Capt.  Whytal  later  became  a  Lt.  Col.  of  U.  S.  Vols.)  ;  E, 
Henry  Doane  (of  Orleans);  F,  Charles  W.  Soule;  G, 
Everett  Lane  (of  Abington,  who  was  elected  Major  Oct. 
20,  1862)  ;  H,  George  B.  Hanover  (of  Chelsea)  ;  I,  George 
O.  Tyler  (of  Cambridge)  ;  K,  J.  Emery  Round.  Maj.  Hol- 
brook, as  we  have  already  seen,  became  colonel.  John  C. 


The  Old  "Tiger"  First  107 

Whiton,  who  later  was  Colonel  of  the  58th  Mass.,  was  Lt. 
Col.,  and  Everett  Lane,  Major.  Co.  D  was  from  Dedham, 
E  from  Orleans,  G  from  Abington,  H  from  Chelsea  and 
I  from  Cambridge.  The  other  companies  were  recruited  at 
large — that  is,  from  Boston.  The  regiment  was  mustered 
in  Sept.  20,  1862. 

Co.  H  of  the  43d  had  an  origin  prophetic  of  the  regimental 
consolidation  which  was  to  give  us  the  present  Coast  Ar- 
tillery. Springing  as  it  did  from  the  membership,  and  com- 
manded as  it  was  by  the  ist  Lieutenant  of  the  Chelsea  Rifles, 
and  they  in  turn  being  the  "depot"  or  reserve  company  of 
the  Chelsea  Volunteers  (the  5th  Co.  in  the  three-year  ist 
Regiment),  Co.  H  was  in  direct  relationship  with  both  of 
these  commands.  After  the  war,  veterans  of  all  three  com- 
panies joined  forces,  transformed  the  Rifles  into  the  "Chel- 
sea Veterans,"  and  thus  created  our  present  5th  Company, 
M.  C.  A.  For  three  years  it  was  actually  made  up  exclusively 
of  veterans. 

Tiger  veterans  and  friends  joined  in  giving  the  43d  a 
notable  "send-off."  Once  more  the  motto  was  "Death  or 
an  honorable  life."  The  historic  banquet  of  Oct.  18,  1798, 
was  repeated  on  Nov.  5,  1862,  and  the  famous  toast  was 
again  drunk,  "The  United  States  of  America ;  as  they  have 
drawn  the  sword  of  justice  with  reason,  may  they  never 
sheathe  it  with  disgrace."  Hon.  R.  C.  Winthrop,  standing 
on  Boston  Common,  presented  the  regiment  a  handsome 
stand  of  colors,  a  gift  from  the  Boston  Light  Infantry. 

A  few  weeks  later  the  43d  found  themselves  under  Gen. 
John  T.  Foster  in  North  Carolina,  far  indeed  from  Boston 
and  their  friends,  but  side  by  side  with  the  3d  and  44th  Regs., 
which  also  enter  into  our  history.  The  old  Tiger  spirit  had 
accompanied  them.  In  Dec.,  1862,  came  their  great  march 
thru  the  swamps  and  sand  barrens,  when  they  were  face  to 


io8  The  Old  First 


face  with  the  enemy  during  eleven  continuous  days.  They 
were  able  to  claim  as  their  list  of  battles,  Kinston,  Whitehall 
and  Goldsboro. 

The  loss  of  the  North  Carolina  coast  was  a  great  blow 
to  the  Confederacy,  opening  as  it  did  the  way  for  Sherman's 
march  northward.  Foster's  army  was  really  an  outpost  of 
the  greater  force  threatening  Richmond. 

In  July,  1863,  their  service  was  completed  and  they  were 
homeward  bound  once  more.  Travelling  by  boat  to  Balti- 
more, stopping  for  a  visit  at  Fort  Monroe,  thence  by  train 
to  New  York,  and  having  a  square  meal  en  route  at  Phila- 
delphia, by  boat  to  New  Haven  and  train  to  Boston,  they 
were  given  a  hearty  welcome  home  at  old  Boylston  Hall,  the 
Tiger  armory,  on  July  21.  The  Boston  Light  Infantry  at 
once  became  the  24th  Unattached  Company,  M.  V.  M. 

A  few  months  of  quiescence  succeeded  the  Tigers'  nine 
months  of  duty  in  the  43d.  Not  until  Aug.,  1864,  is  there 
record  of  further  activity.  The  war  was  drawing  to  a  close, 
the  nine-months  regiments  had  been  mustered  out  and  the 
three-year  commands  were  returning.  Once  more  the  ambi- 
tion to  have  a  "crack"  regiment  was  stirring  in  Boston. 
Veteran  and  exempt  members  of  the  Tigers  had  formed  the 
"Boston  Lt.  Inf.  Assn.,"  Nov.  i,  1862,  during  the  absence  of 
the  active  company.  On  this  August  date  in  1864  the  Light 
Infantry  reorganized  themselves  as  the  "7th  Infantry." 
Maj.  Charles  O.  Rogers,  first  commander  of  the  2d  Bat- 
talion, was  offered  the  colonelcy  but  declined;  Daniel  G. 
Handy  was  then  elected,  and  received  his  commission  on 
Nov.  6,  1865.  (Col.  Handy  had  been  Maj.  of  the  I2th  Mass, 
in  1861  and  1862 — indeed  had  been  with  the  recruits  in  Ft. 
Warren  when  "John  Brown's  Body"  originated.)  A  vigor- 
ous attempt  was  made  to  form  new  companies  and  maintain 
the  7th  at  regimental  standard. 


The  Old  "Tiger"  First 109 

The  7th  Mass.  Inf.,  a  Taunton  command,  had  made  a 
noble  name  for  itself  during  three  years  of  hard  service; 
and  had  been  mustered  out  just  before  the  Tiger  7th  came 
into  existence.  The  traditions  connected  with  the  number 
were  certain  to  prove  stimulating.  But  the  choice  of  a  num- 
ber had  further  significance ;  it  was  a  deliberate  attempt  to 
reproduce  the  New  York  7th.  Gilmore  became  band-leader, 
and  it  was  hoped  that  his  famous  musicians  would  lend 
brilliancy  to  the  new  regiment.  It  was  in  his  capacity  as 
leader  of  the  7th  Regiment  band  that  Gilmore  arranged 
and  conducted  his  first  "Peace  Jubilee  Festival"  in  1869, 
with  ten  thousand  singers  and  eight  hundred  instrumental- 
ists in  a  "coliseum"  seating  fifty  thousand,  and  not  exceeded 
in  size  even  by  Billy  Sunday's  tabernacle  of  1916.  Music 
by  wholesale,  this,  and  very  different  from  the  original  clas- 
sical "Peace  Jubilee"  in  King's  Chapel,  Feb.  22,  1815,  from 
which  Gilmore  obtained  the  suggestion.  New  England  liked 
it;  and  derived  benefit  from  the  popularization  of  good 
music.  And  the  7th  received  no  little  advertising. 

Nine  new  companies  came  into  existence  within  two  years, 
mostly  by  the  process  of  subdividing  older  commands,  while 
the  Tigers  continued  their  organization  as  Co.  A.  Charles 
F.  Harrington,  former  Captain  of  the  Tigers,  became 
colonel  in  1869.  Distinguished  soldiers  were  willing  to 
serve  as  company  commanders  in  the  7th.  B  had  for  a 
Captain,  Walter  Scott  Sampson,  who  had  led  the  7th  Co.  of 
Col.  Cowdin's  regiment,  the  Washington  Light  Guard,  into 
the  6th,  and  had  commanded  it  (Co.  K  of  the  6th)  during 
its  famous  march  thru  Baltimore.  Capt.  Sampson  had 
meanwhile  been  in  command  of  a  company  in  the  22d  Mass. 
He  was,  in  civil  life,  a  successful  Boston  builder.  E  was 
commanded  by  no  less  a  personage  than  Henry  J.  Hallgreen, 
war  Captain  of  A  or  the  Tiger  Company  in  the  43d.  A 


no  The  Old  First 


had  for  its  Captain,  David  W.  Wardrop,  war  Colonel  of  the 
3d  Reg.  The  entire  regiment  was  quartered  in  a  single 
armory,  at  Pine  and  Washington  Sts.  Co.  B  had  developed 
by  fission  from  Co.  A  in  1864  and  was  first  called  the  Handy 
Guard  or  32d  Unattached  Co.  In  1869  so  many  veterans 
of  the  old  Washington  Light  Guard  joined  Co.  B  that  the 
Handy  Guard  became  known  as  the  Washington  Light 
Guard.  In  1873  tne  company  transferred  its  headquarters 
from  Boston  to  Cambridge,  and,  as  part  of  the  process,  the 
name  was  again  changed,  becoming  the  Massachusetts 
Guards.  Claim  has  been  made  that  Co.  B  perpetuates  the 
old  original  Washington  Light  Guard,  and  it  also  claims  to 
be  the  Tigers,  as  truly  as  the  2d  Company ; — it  exists  today 
as  the  6th  Company,  Mass.  C.  A.  Gen.  W.  E.  Lombard 
holds  its  older  record  books.  The  7th  Company,  Mass. 
C.  A.,  the  Pierce  Light  Guard,  came  into  existence  as  Co.  E 
of  the  7th;  Henry  L.  Pierce  after  whom  it  was  named 
donated  $1,000  to  the  company  treasury. 

Young  men,  however,  are  more  successful  than  veterans 
in  maintaining  the  interest  of  an  active  regiment;  and 
apathy  concerning  miltary  matters  characterized  the  public 
thinking  during  the  years  immediately  following  the  war. 
By  1870  the  7th  had  only  four  live  companies  remaining; 
on  July  20  of  that  year  the  regiment  was  reduced  to  a  bat- 
talion. The  Tigers  now  recovered  their  old  regimental  num- 
ber— they  became  the  "ist"  Battalion,  and  Maj.  Douglass 
Frazer  commanded.  The  ist  Battalion  was  on  duty  in  1872 
at  the  great  Boston  fire,  and  protected  the  most  important 
section  of  all,  the  financial  district  along  State  Street. 

Austin  C.  Wellington,  formerly  ist  Lieutenant  in  the  38th 
Mass.,  became  captain  of  the  Tiger  Co.  A  in  1870,  and  with 
his  advent  began  the  era  of  prosperity  and  efficiency  for 
which  the  Tigers  had  long  been  wishing.  In  1873  Welling- 


The  Old  "Tiger"  First  in 

ton  became  Major  of  the  battalion,  and  on  March  25,  1874, 
came  a  change  in  designation,  bringing,  after  failure  to  get 
back  their  war  number,  2d,  the  long-coveted  numeral,  "4th." 
As  an  indication  of  how  this  ambition  had  persisted  from 
ante-bellum  days,  we  find  the  organization,  in  1875,  un- 
officially describing  itself  as  the  4th  Battalion  "of  Rifles." 
In  1872  the  "Maverick  Rifles"  had  been  organized  as  Co.  D 
of  this  battalion;  today  they  are  the  nth  Co.,  Mass.  C.  A. 

It  was  the  privilege  of  the  Tigers,  in  1875,  to  receive  and 
entertain  the  Old  Guard  of  New  York  City  and  the  Wash- 
ington Lt.  Infantry  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  the  latter 
being  the  first  southern  military  body  to  visit  the  north  after 
the  war.  The  following  year  the  Tigers  and  Old  Guard 
returned  this  courtesy,  visiting  Charleston  and  assisting  in 
the  celebration  of  the  centennial  of  the  battle  of  Fort 
Moultrie  on  June  28. 

It  was  at  once  appreciated  that  Boston  had  a  "crack" 
battalion  and  Maj.  Wellington's  command  was  in  great  de- 
mand for  parades  and  reviews.  Its  drill  became  a  standard 
for  other  infantry  bodies,  while  its  striking  quasi-Zouave 
uniform  made  such  an  impression  upon  the  authorities  that 
the  costume  was,  in  1884,  adopted  as  the  State  uniform. 
Such  was  the  4th  Battalion  which,  on  Dec.  3,  1878,  by  a 
process  of  consolidation,  became  part  of  the  ist  Regiment. 


CHAPTER   VIII 
"THE    CAPE" 

During  the  train-band  days,  the  troops  of  Plymouth  and 
Bristol  counties,  with  the  Cape  and  Islands,  constituted  the 
5th  Division,  while  Boston  militia  made  up  the  ist.  When 
the  volunteer  militia  was  set  apart  as  the  principal  defence 
of  the  state,  both  sections  found  themselves  in  the  same  divi- 
sion. Now  the  Cape  was  the  2d  Brigade  while  Boston  was 
the  ist.  By  the  consolidation  of  1878  the  two  were  finally 
brought  together  into  the  same  regiment,  so  that  the  Coast 
Artillery  not  only  perpetuates  the  old  Legionary  Brigade, 
but  also  the  old  2d  Brigade,  M.  V.  M.,  and  the  older  5th 
Division. 

There  were  four  regiments  of  infantry  in  the  ist  Brigade, 
5th  Division,  of  the  train-band.  The  Halifax  Light  Infan- 
try, organized  in  1792,  attached  to  the  ist  of  these,  was  the 
first  company  in  the  entire  district  to  rise  from  the  condition 
of  militia  to  that  of  volunteers;  and  presently  became  the 
senior  member  of  the  Light  Infantry  Regiment.  During  its 
long  career  from  1792  until  1876,  the  Halifax  Light  In- 
fantry was  always  one  of  the  foremost  military  bodies  in 
Plymouth  County,  and  indeed  in  the  entire  state.  Capt.  Asa 
Thompson,  who  commanded  in  1814,  and  who  led  his  men 
into  the  ist  Division  territory  for  the  purpose  of  assisting 
to  build  and  garrison  Boston  forts,  was  a  giant  (a  "Saul" 
in  the  Scriptural  language  of  the  day),  six  feet,  seven  inches 
in  stature.  The  towering  head-dress  of  the  times  brought 
his  height  up  to  eight  feet.  As  he  led  his  men  across  South 
Boston  bridge  on  the  way  to  the  forts  and  duty,  every  one 


"The  Cape"  113 


stopped  to  look  and  admire, — and  wonder  whether  the  bridge 
could  stand  up  beneath  the  load.  Alas !  Captain  Thompson 
presently  fell  into  disgrace,  and  was  dismissed  by  court- 
martial. 

Oct.  21,  1818,  patriotic  citizens  of  Plymouth  met  and  or- 
ganized a  light  infantry  company,  to  which  they  gave  the 
name,  Standish  Guards,  in  compliment  to  the  great  "Cap- 
tain of  Plymouth."  Coomer  Weston  was  elected  Captain, 
James  H.  Holmes,  Lieutenant,  and  William  Randall,  Ensign. 
Under  the  drill  regulations  of  the  period,  the  captain 
marched  at  the  head  of  the  column,  the  lieutenant  at  the 
rear,  and  the  ensign  in  the  center,  carrying  the  flag.  The 
most  notable  early  parade  of  the  Guards  occurred  on  Dec. 
22,  1820,  when  they  escorted  the  Pilgrim  Society,  and 
Daniel  Webster  as  orator  of  the  day,  in  commemoration  of 
the  bi-centenary  of  the  Fathers'  landing.  To  be  sure,  the 
date  is  now  known  to  be  one  day  too  late ;  but  no  error  of 
detail  could  prevent  the  occasion  from  being  one  long  worth 
remembering. 

As  regards  personnel,  the  Cape  companies  did  not  differ 
from  those  in  Boston ;  prosperous  merchants  and  tradesmen 
and  mechanics  made  up  the  bulk  of  their  membership; 
moreover  a  certain  percentage  of  farmers  were  enrolled. 
There  was  less  opportunity  for  social  interchange  and  less 
of  the  stimulus  arising  from  competition,  owing  to  the  rela- 
tive smallness  of  the  cities  and  towns.  But  in  general  the 
constituent  organizations  of  the  3d  Regiment  passed  thru  the 
same  experiences  as  did  their  sister  companies  to  the  north- 
ward. It  will  therefore  not  be  necessary  to  repeat  the  details 
of  events  as  outlined  in  previous  chapters;  we  need  only 
speak  of  those  matters  which  were  distinctive  of  the  Cape. 

By  1834  the  train-band  was  in  a  very  bad  way  indeed, 
and  was  rapidly  approaching  the  moment  of  its  extinction. 


H4  The  Old  First 


Ambitious  companies  were  transferring  to  the  light  infantry, 
in  order  to  distinguish  themselvesi  from  their  older  and  in- 
efficient companions.  Marshfield  and  Scituate  had  rifle  com- 
panies and  Scituate  and  Pembroke  light  infantry  companies 
in  connection  with  the  2d  train-band  Regiment;  Abington 
had  rifles,  grenadiers  and  light  infantry,  and  West  Bridge- 
water  light  infantry  in  the  3d  Regiment;  and  Middleboro 
had  grenadiers  in  the  4th  Regiment.  In  September  of  that 
year  an  order  was  issued  separating  the  volunteer  companies 
from  the  train-band  regiments,  and  establishing  them  as  a 
"Regiment  of  Light  Infantry,  ist  Brigade,  5th  Division." 
The  nine  companies  mentioned,  with  the  Halifax  Lt.  Inf. 
and  the  Standish  Guards,  constituted  this  new  regiment. 
The  organization  is  interesting  because  it  ultimately  became 
the  3d  Regiment,  and  finally  was  consolidated  in  the  Coast 
Artillery.  The  Samoset  Rifles  or  Guards  were  organized 
in  1835  and  were  presently  added  to  the  regiment. 

On  April  24,  1840,  the  command  became  the  3d  Regiment 
of  Light  Infantry,  2d  Brigade,  1st  Division.  When  on 
April  25,  1842,  the  companies  received  distinguishing  let- 
ters, the  following  units  existed  with  vitality  sufficient  to 
survive  the  transition:  A,  Halifax  Light  Infantry;  B,  Plym- 
outh, Standish  Guards ;  C,  Hanson  Rifles  (a  new  company)  ; 
D,  Abington  Light  Infantry ;  E,  Middleboro  Grenadiers ;  F, 
Wareham  Grenadiers  (a  new  company)  ;  and  G,  Abington 
Rifles.  At  that  date  the  New  Bedford  and  Fall  River  com- 
panies were  in  the  2d  Battalion  of  Light  Infantry,  as  was 
also  the  company  of  Taunton  Rifles.  Taunton  subsequently 
fell  within  the  district  of  the  4th  Regiment,  a  command 
which  was  by  its  location  mainly  an  overflow  from  the  3d, 
and  which  a  quarter  century  later  merged  in  the  3d. 

Col.  Gideon  W.  Young  of  Scituate,  who  had  commanded 
the  2d  Regiment  in  the  train-band  brigade,  was  chosen  first 


"The  Cape"  115 


commander  of  the  Light  Infantry  regiment.  Col.  John 
Cushing,  Jr.,  of  Abington,  succeeded  Col.  Young  and  served 
from  May  20,  1837,  until  May  13,  1839.  Col.  Nahum  Reyn- 
olds of  North  Bridgewater  came  next,  receiving  his  commis- 
sion Aug.  31,  1839.  Col.  Henry  Dunham  of  Abington  fol- 
lowed on  March  25,  1841,  being  first  to  receive  commission 
as  Colonel  of  the  "3d"  Regiment.  Presently  Col.  Dunham 
was  chosen  Brigadier  General.  During  the  administration 
of  Col.  Albert  Whitmarsh  of  Abington,  Aug.  i,  1842,  to 
May  i,  1844,  new  companies  were  organized  in  Middle- 
boro  and  Abington,  while  the  Wareham  Grenadiers  disap- 
peared from  the  records.  The  original  New  Bedford  City 
Guards  were  organized  in  1842,  with  Capt.  George  A. 
Bourne  in  command;  and  in  1846  they  became  Co.  K  of  the 
3d  Regiment.  During  their  first  year,  the  Guards  paid  a  visit 
to  the  Rifle  Rangers  of  Boston.  The  occasion  inspired 
someone  to  compose  the  "Whaleman's  Quickstep/'  While 
we  are  not  today  interested  in  this  as  music,  still  it  finds 
place  in  all  our  bibliographies  because,  on  the  front 
cover,  it  bears  a  picture  of  the  two  companies  mustered  on 
Boston  Common.  The  Rifle  Rangers  stand  in  line  as  the 
New  Bedford  Guards  march  past,  straight  in  the  direction 
of  the  large  refreshment  tent  which  bounds  the  vista.  New 
Bedford's  company  paraded  in  four  platoons  of  eight  files — 
a  fact  indicative  of  a  large  membership.  The  City  Guards 
were  disbanded  in  1849. 

Eliab  Ward  of  Middleboro  was  Colonel  from  July  10, 
1844,  until  April  10,  1850,  an  unusually  long  term. 
Elnathan  Wilbur  of  Middleboro  was  Colonel  from  May  4, 
1850,  till  Jan.  28,  1853 ;  Col.  Stephen  Thomas  of  Middle- 
boro succeeded  Col.  Wilbur  and  remained  in  office  from 
March  12,  1853,  until  Apr.  8,  1858.  While  companies  were 
disbanded  in  Plymouth  county,  the  loss  was  made  good  by 


ii6  The  Old  First 


the  formation  of  new  units  in  Bristol  county.  On  June  29, 
1850,  the  Assonet  Light  Infantry  of  Freetown  came  into  ex- 
istence— a  company  destined  to  go  to  war  eleven  years  later 
with  only  twenty-one  enlisted  men,  equipped  with  ancient 
bullets  which  had  been  moulded  for  use  in  suppressing 
Shays'  rebellion.  Yet  one  of  their  members  was  to  have  the 
distinction  of  bringing  in,  at  Fort  Monroe,  the  first  three 
escaped  slaves  or  "contrabands."  July  22,  1852,  was  the 
birthday  of  the  new  City  Guards  of  New  Bedford,  com- 
manded by  the  same  Capt.  Bourne  who  led  the  former  com- 
pany. This  organization  is  today  the  4th  Company,  Mass. 
C.  A.  On  Feb.  26,  1855,  the  regiment  was  redesignated  the 
"3d  Regiment  of  Infantry." 

David  W.  Wardrop  of  New  Bedford,  June  26,  1858,  John 
H.  Jennings  of  New  Bedford,  May  10,  1862,  until  Aug.  25, 
1862,  and  Silas  P.  Richmond  of  Freetown,  Oct.  7,  1862, 
were  the  war  Colonels  of  the  3d.  Col.  Wardrop  was  a 
Philadelphian  by  birth,  but  in  young  manhood  removed  to 
New  Bedford.  For  a  time  he  was  a  cadet  at  West  Point. 
During  a  temporary  residence  in  Boston  he  had  been  a 
member  of  the  Fusiliers.  In  his  home  city  he  served  in 
the  City  Guards,  and  was  connected  with  the  whaling  in- 
dustries of  the  port.  Following  the  three-months'  service 
with  the  3d,  he  became  Colonel  of  the  99th  New  York  Vol- 
unteers ;  and  after  the  war  he  was  inspector  of  customs  at 
Boston.  Col.  Richmond  had  been  a  charter  member  of  the 
Assonet  Lt.  Inf.,  and  subsequently  its  Captain.  Giving  up 
his  farm  in  1857,  he  spent  a  year  with  John  Brown  in  Kansas 
repelling  "border  ruffians."  During  the  three-months'  tour 
of  duty,  as  we  shall  see,  he  was  captain  on  the  brigade  staff ; 
under  Col.  Jennings  he  was  Lieutenant  Colonel.  At  the 
conclusion  of  his  nine-months'  service,  he  became  Colonel 
of  the  58th. Mass.  and. Assistant  Provost  Marshal  General 


"The  Cape"  117 


of  the  Department  of  the  South.  After  the  war  he  returned 
to  Freetown,  and  continued  active  in  business  and  political 
spheres. 

Col.  Wardrop's  regiment  received  orders  to  mobilize  at 
Boston  on  the  evening  of  Monday,  Apr.  15,  1861.  As  the 
headquarters  of  the  3d  were  more  remote  from  Boston  than 
those  of  any  other  regiment  called  out,  a  severe  handicap 
rested  upon  the  command.  Its  members  were  mostly  busy 
farmers  or  mechanics.  Furthermore  a  cold,  spring  north- 
easter was  raging  and  roads  were  almost  impassable  be- 
cause of  mud.  Yet  the  energy  of  the  colonel  and  his  staff 
officers  and  the  loyalty  of  the  men  overcame  these  difficulties, 
and  enabled  the  regiment  to  report  in  Boston  on  the  i6th — 
as  early  as  any  of  those  residing  nearer.  Credit  must  be 
given  to  Pres.  Horace  Scott  of  the  Fairhaven  Railroad  for 
free  use  of  a  special  train  on  the  night  of  April  15,  by  which 
alone  the  prompt  circulation  of  the  order  became  possible ; 
but  the  real  praise  belongs  to  the  officers  and  men  of  the 
companies,  whose  patriotism  produced  the  magnificent  re- 
sponse. The  six  companies  of  the  regiment,  together  with 
a  Cambridge  company  which  was  attached,  embarked  on 
the  steamer,  "S.  R.  Spalding,"  April  17,  and  lay  in  the  har- 
bor that  night  awaiting  supplies.  When  on  the  following 
morning  final  drafts  of  men  had  arrived,  bringing  the  total 
up  to  more  than  five  hundred,  the  steamer  sailed  under  sealed 
orders ;  and  found,  when  nine  miles  out,  that  her  destination 
was  Fort  Monroe.  As  communication  with  Washington 
was  temporarily  interrupted,  these  orders  emanated  from 
Gov.  Andrew  and  are  a  mark  of  his  patriotic  sagacity ;  Gen. 
John  E.  Wool,  in  command  of  Fort  Monroe,  had  sent  a 
messenger  by  water  requesting  help.  The  officers  of  the 
regiment  were,  besides  Col.  Wardrop;  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Charles  Raymond,  a  former  captain  of  the  Standish  Guards ; 


u8  The  Old  First 


Major  John  H.  Jennings  of  New  Bedford;  Captains,  Co.  A, 
Joseph  S.  Harlow,  who,  like  his  predecessor  of  1814,  was 
well  over  six  feet  in  height ;  B,  Charles  C.  Doten  of  Plym- 
outh (afterwards  Captain  of  Co.  G,  in  the  38th  Mass.,  and 
today  Secretary  of  the  Pilgrim  Society)  ;  C,  the  Cambridge 
company,  Capt.  James  P.  Richardson;  G,  John  W.  Marble 
of  Assonet ;  H,  Lucien  L.  Perkins  of  Plympton ;  K,  William 
S.  McFarlin  of  South  Carver  (subsequently  Captain  of  Co. 
C,  i8th  Mass.  Vol.  Inf.)  ;  and  L,  Timothy  Ingraham  of  New 
Bedford.  Four  new  companies  were  later  added  to  the  regi- 
ment ;  and  after  the  expiration  of  the  three-months'  service, 
these  became  the  nucleus  of  the  2Qth  Regiment.  Companies 
from  the  4th  Regiment  also  joined  the  29th.  As  the  4th 
Regiment  was  included  in  the  expedition  to  Fort  Monroe, 
going  by  boat  from  New  York,  and  thus  both  units  of  the 
2d  Brigade,  ist  Division,  M.  V.  M.,  were  involved,  Gen. 
Ebenezer  W.  Peirce,  of  Freetown,  went  as  brigade  com- 
mander; and  on  his  staff  was  Capt.  Silas  P.  Richmond. 
The  3d  Regiment  had  worn  gray  uniforms  since  1845,  and 
after  the  war  were  to  continue  the  color  until  1874.  So 
we  may  picture  them  as  clad  in  that  dressy  yet  serviceable 
garb. 

Fort  Monroe,  often  called  "Fortress"  Monroe  to  indicate 
that  it  consists  of  a  fort  within  a  fort,  is  known  as  the 
"Gibraltar  of  America."  Certainly  it  is  a  tribute  to  the  po- 
litical power  of  the  dominant  "House  of  Virginia"  in  the 
early  days  of  our  Republic,  that  the  largest  and  strongest 
fortification  of  all  should  be  erected  for  the  defence  of  Nor- 
folk and  the  James  river.  Incidentally  it  affords  some  pro- 
tection to  Washington  and  Baltimore;  but  that  was  not  a 
controlling  consideration  in  1819,  when  construction  began, 
nor  in  1830,  when  the  work  was  completed.  Monroe  is  a 
five-bastioned  fort  of  masonry  work,  and  accordingly  might 


"The  Cape"  119 


be  roughly  described  as  a  huge  pentagon.  The  walls  sur- 
rounding it  extend  for  the  almost  incredible  distance  of  two 
miles,  while  the  enclosed  area  is  eighty  acres  in  extent.  Two 
picturesque  features  are  the  clumps  of  live  oaks  growing 
on  the  parade,  which  are  not  found  anywhere  farther  north, 
and  the  sea-water  moat  in  which  tide-gates  hold  the  water 
at  a  constant  depth  of  six  feet. 

Such  a  fort  is  impregnable  when  adequately  garrisoned — 
Monroe  requires  at  least  fifteen  hundred  men  to  render  her 
secure.  A  Secretary  of  War  with  southern  sympathies  had 
stripped  the  fort  of  soldiers,  until  little  more  than  a  care- 
takers' party  remained.  This  tiny  regular  garrison  was 
compelled  to  keep  all  its  members  under  arms  continually 
in  order  to  man  the  guard-posts.  Part  of  the  moat  had  be- 
come an  oyster-bed  and  was  so  filled  up  as  to  be  f ordable. 

Sailing  from  Boston  on  the  i8th,  the  men  of  the  3d  ex- 
perienced rough  weather  rounding  Cape  Cod.  The  last  meal 
the  soldiers  had  eaten  before  leaving  Boston  harbor  did 
them  no  permanent  good.  Just  as  in  a  rambling  conversa- 
tion, so  with  landsmen  on  the  ocean — one  thing  brings  up 
another.  On  the  historic  I9th  of  April,  while  the  6th  was 
fighting  its  way  thru  Baltimore  and  the  N.  Y.  7th  was  re- 
ceiving an  ovation  along  Broadway,  the  3d  and  4th  were 
enjoying  (?)  life  on  the  ocean  wave.  All  things,  however, 
have  an  end ;  and  the  2oth  found  both  transports  off  Mon- 
roe, at  the  entrance  of  the  Chesapeake  bay.  At  first  they 
were  uncertain  whether  the  fort  remained  in  loyal  hands 
or  not;  but  the  morning  gun  fired  as  a  salute,  and  "old 
glory"  ascending  the  staff,  soon  reassured  them.  No  troops 
were  ever  more  heartily  welcomed  than  were  the  Massa- 
chusetts militiamen  by  the  regulars  of  the  garrison.  First 
the  4th  and  then  the  3d  marched  thru  the  sally-port,  and 


120  The  Old  First 


bivouacked  beneath  the  live  oaks ;  America's  most  important 
fort  was  manned  by  loyal  troops. 

After  barely  time  to  snatch  a  luncheon  and  reassure  them- 
selves that  such  a  thing  as  solid  ground  existed,  the  3d  was 
ordered  under  arms.  Commodore  Paulding  had  just  arrived 
from  Washington  in  the  S.  S.  "Pawnee,"  with  orders  to 
secure  soldiers,  and  proceed  to  Norfolk  for  the  purpose  of 
destroying  the  Gosport  Navy  Yard.  Norfolk  lay  far  within 
the  newly  established  Confederate  lines.  Across  Hampton 
Roads,  up  the  Elizabeth  river,  past  Sewell's  Point  where  the 
exposition  of  1907  was  to  stand  and  where  in  1861  the  Con- 
federates were  erecting  an  earthwork,  past  Fort  Norfolk, 
which  was  then  held  by  Confederates,  the  "Pawnee"  pro- 
ceeded in  cool  disregard  of  threatened  shot  and  shell.  It 
was  nine  p.  M.  when  the  Navy  Yard  was  reached,  and  here 
another  peril  became  imminent.  The  tiny  crew  and  garrison 
of  the  Yard  were  at  their  guns,  not  knowing  whether  the 
"Pawnee"  were  an  attacking  Confederate  or  a  Union  rein- 
forcement. Presently,  however,  identity  was  cleared  up, 
and  the  principal  business  of  the  night  was  allowed  to  pro- 
ceed. 

A  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  a  southern  sympathizer,  had 
accumulated  ships  and  material  at  Gosport  worth  not  less 
than  $10,000,000,  for  the  express  purpose  of  allowing  them 
to  fall  into  Confederate  hands.  It  was  the  duty  of  Com- 
modore Paulding  and  Col.  Wardrop  to  prevent  such  a  disas- 
trous consummation.  Both  officers  felt  that  the  Yard  could 
be  held  against  hostile  attack ;  but  their  orders  were  explicit 
— to  destroy  and  abandon.  History  has  decided  that  the 
destruction  might  have  been  avoided.  As,  however,  the 
leaders  of  the  expedition  had  no  choice,  they  endeavored 
to  make  the  destruction  complete.  The  "Merrimac"  was  set 
afire  and  sunk.  Everything  that  would  not  burn  was  thrown 


"The  Cape"  121 


overboard.  At  3  A.  M.  Sunday,  the  men  of  the  3d,  tired 
and  smoke-begrimed,  reembarked  on  the  "Pawnee";  and 
towing  the  "Cumberland,"  with  the  Navy  Yard  garrison  on 
board,  started  down  the  Elizabeth  river,  leaving  a  raging 
hell  of  flames  behind  them.  While  the  regiment  had  not 
been  permitted  to  remain  and  hold  Gosport  as  they  desired, 
they  had  been  the  first  northern  troops  to  engage  actively 
in  military  operations  within  hostile  territory. 

By  the  middle  of  May  the  four  additional  companies  had 
arrived  and  joined  the  regiment.  Gen.  B.  F.  Butler,  having 
completed  his  task  of  pacifying  Baltimore,  came  to  Monroe 
as  Major  General  in  command  of  the  "Department  of  Vir- 
ginia and  North  Carolina."  On  May  24,  Private  Charles 
R.  Haskins  of  Co.  G  (Assonet)  had  the  honor  of  bringing 
in  the  first  escaped  negro  slaves  who  reached  the  Union 
lines,  Haskins  being  on  guard  at  the  time  in  Hampton.  By 
one  of  the  happy  flights  of  practical  genius  for  which  he 
was  distinguished,  Gen.  Butler  decided  that  he  could  not 
return  the  run-aways  because  they  were  "contraband  of 
war."  The  north  had  been  waiting  in  anxious  suspense  to 
know  what  would  happen  when  southern  slave-owners 
should  demand  the  return  of  their  property.  Very  much 
depended  upon  the  decision  of  the  question.  Men  certainly 
would  refuse  to  enlist  in  the  Union  armies  if  they  were 
thereby  to  become  slave-drivers.  Butler's  decision  caused 
a  sigh  of  relief  thruout  the  loyal  states.  It  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  this  first  long  step  toward  ultimate  emancipation 
was  taken  in  connection  with  the  activity  of  the  3d  Regiment. 

One  can  scarcely  overestimate  the  importance  of  these 
early  days  at  Monroe.  The  fort  has  always  been  the  coast 
artillery  headquarters  of  the  United  States.  During  the 
Civil  War  it  was  far  more  than  this — it  was  the  gateway 
of  Virginia.  Its  possession  enabled  McClellan  and  Grant 


122  The  Old  First 


to  operate  against  Richmond.  Without  it  neither  the  Penin- 
sular campaign  nor  the  siege  of  Petersburg  could  have  taken 
place.  Nearby  Hampton,  fanned  by  the  sea-breezes,  became 
the  sanitorium  of  the  northern  armies.  Burnside's  expedi- 
tion, which  made  possible  Sherman's  march,  depended  upon 
Monroe  as  a  base.  When  on  July  16,  five  days  after  the 
4th  Regiment  had  departed,  the  men  of  the  3d  embarked  on 
the  S.  S.  "Cambridge"  to  sail  for  Boston,  they  felt  with 
reason  that  they  had  rendered  priceless  service  to  their 
country. 

One  company  of  the  4th  Regiment,  Co.  G,  which  served 
three  months  at  Fort  Monroe,  and  subsequently  for  nine 
months  of  1862-63  at  New  Orleans,  Baton  Rouge  and  Port 
Hudson,  became,  in  1866,  Co.  G  of  the  3d;  and  in  1878  was 
consolidated  in  the  ist.  Co.  G  had  been  organized  at  Taun- 
ton  as  the  "Light  Guard"  in  1855. 

In  the  fall  of  1862  a  call  came  for  nine-months  troops. 
The  companies  of  the  3d  had  maintained  their  organization, 
and  altho  constantly  depleted  to  supply  recruits  for  other 
regiments,  were  relatively  well  prepared  for  service.  They 
now  determined  that  the  3d  should  reenter  the  U.  S.  service. 
In  order  to  distribute  town  quotas  more  justly,  the  Assonet 
Light  Infantry  was  united  with  the  Halifax  Light  Infantry 
as  Co.  A,  under  Capt.  John  W.  Marble  of  Assonet;  (Capt. 
Marble  was  subsequently  to  command  the  22d  Unattached 
Company  during  the  one-hundred-days  of  1864;)  the  Sam- 
oset  Guards  of  Plympton  and  the  Bay  State  Light  Infantry 
of  Carver  were  consolidated  with  the  Standish  Guards  as 
Co.  B,  under  Capt.  Thomas  B.  Griffith  of  Carver.  The  New 
Bedford  City  Guards  became  Co.  E,  under  Capt.  John  A. 
Hawes.  New  companies  were  organized:  C  and  D  in  Fall 
River  under  Capts.  Elihu  Grant  and  Andrew  D.  Wright 
(Capt.  Grant  later  became  a  minister)  ;  F  and  G  in  New 


"The  Cape"  123 


Bedford  under  Capts.  George  H.  Hurlburt  and  William  S. 
Cobb;  H  in  Rehoboth  under  Capt.  Otis  A.  Baker,  who  had 
a  notable  war  record.  (As  private  in  the  ist  R.  L,  he  had 
been  wounded  at  Bull  Run.  Later  he  had  served  as  ist 
Sergeant  and  2d  Lieutenant  in  the  44th  R.  I. ;  subsequently 
he  was  to  be  Captain  of  the  i8th  Unattached  Company,) 
I  in  Fairhaven  under  Capt.  Barnabas  Ewer,  Jr.,  who  as 
Major  of  the  58th  Mass,  was  killed  at  Cold  Harbor  in  1864; 
K  in  Bridgewater  under  Capt.  Samuel  Bates.  Co.  D  of  Fall 
River  continued  its  existence  after  the  war,  and  was  active 
until  1876.  The  regiment  was  commanded  by  Col.  Rich- 
mond; the  Lieutenant  Colonel  was  James  Barton  of  New 
Bedford,  who  had  been  ist  Lieutenant  during  the  three- 
months'  service;  the  Major  was  John  Morrissey  of  Plym- 
outh, who  had  been  "legislated  out"  of  the  captaincy  of  the 
Standish  Guards  by  the  recent  consolidation.  Maj.  Mor- 
rissey became,  after  the  war,  Sergeant-at-Arms  in  the  Boston 
State  House. 

The  3d  were  mustered  into  U.  S.  service  for  nine  months 
on  Sept.  23,  1862.  As  their  numbers  were  too  great  for  a 
single  transport,  two  vessels  received  the  regiment,  the 
"Merrimac"  and  the  "Mississippi."  Off  Cape  Cod  the  men 
experienced  inconvenience  similar  to  that  of  1861 ;  and  many 
communed  with  the  great  deep.  Thereafter  the  voyage  was 
thru  calm  water,  not  even  Cape  Hatteras  proving  sufficient 
to  stir  up  trouble.  Landing  was  made  at  Beaufort,  North 
Carolina,  whence  trains  conveyed  the  regiment  to  Newbern. 
That  town  was  originally  settled  by  Swiss  colonists;  as, 
however,  it  bore  small  trace  of  Helvetian  thriftiness  and 
neatness  in  1862,  our  men  found  nothing  to  admire.  But 
the  district  was  of  much  military  importance  as  a  source  of 
supplies  and  channel  of  communication  for  Richmond  and 
Lee's  army.  The  3d,  under  Gen.  Foster,  was  side  by  side 


124  The  Old  First 


with  the  43d  and  44th  Regiments,  both  of  which  have  place 
in  Coast  Artillery  history.  They  participated  in  the  "great 
march"  thru  Kinston,  Whitehall  and  Goldsboro.  June  n, 
1863,  the  regiment  embarked  for  home;  and  was  mustered 
out  June  26. 

Veterans  of  the  4th  Regiment  residing  in  Taunton  or- 
ganized the  Taunton  City  Guard  on  Nov.  4,  1865,  thus  giv- 
ing that  city  a  competitor  to  its  older  Light  Guard.  The 
company  entered  the  3d  Regiment  in  1866,  and  today  exists 
as  the  Qth  Company,  Mass.  C.  A.  For  a  few  months  there 
was  an  exciting  rivalry  between  the  two  Taunton  companies, 
as  each  claimed  to  be  the  rightful  owner  of  certain  military 
property  in  the  city, — camp  equipage  and  a  fund  of  $800 
coming  down  from  war  days.  The  property  would  be  first 
concealed  by  one  company  and  then  captured  by  the  other. 
The  courts  were  appealed  to ;  but  finally  the  matter  was  com- 
promised; they  divided  the  money,  and  the  companies  be- 
came joint  owners  of  the  tentage  and  other  equipment. 

Orders  were  issued  by  the  State  authorities  on  Aug.  20, 
1866,  combining  the  4th  and  3d  Regiments  in  a  new  3d  Regi- 
ment, and  on  Aug.  31,  Col.  Mason  W.  Burt  of  Taunton 
was  elected  commander.  Col.  Burt  had  been  Captain  and 
Major  in  the  22d  Mass.  Volunteers  from  1861  to  1864.  The 
new  regiment  consisted  of  companies  in  Halifax  (A),  Fall 
River  (B),  Scituate  (C),  New  Bedford  (E),  Taunton  (F) 
and  (G),  and  Quincy  (H).  The  Halifax  Light  Infantry, 
the  New  Bedford  City  Guards,  B  of  Fall  River,  and,  a  little 
later,  the  revived  D  of  Fall  River  under  Capt.  Sierra  L. 
Braley,  with  a  new  Scituate  company,  represented  the  3d 
Regiment;  while  the  Taunton  Light  Guard  and  Hancock 
Light  Guards  of  Quincy  came  from  the  4th  Regiment.  The 
new  Taunton  company  entered  the  3d  at  this  time ;  but  the 
Standish  Guards  remained  aloof,  as  the  87th  Unattached 


'The  Cape"  125 


Company,  until  1868.  At  the  latter  date  the  Plymouth  com- 
pany came  in  as  Co.  M.  Thomas  J.  Borden  became  Colonel 
June  23,  1868,  and  Bradford  D.  Davol  followed  on  March 
9,  1871,  both  being  residents  of  Fall  River.  When  on  Aug. 
2,  1876,  the  regiment  was  reduced  to  a  battalion,  the  "3d 
Battalion  of  Infantry,"  its  only  surviving  companies  were 
the  New  Bedford  City  Guards  (E),  the  Taunton  City 
Guards  (F),  the  Taunton  Light  Guard  (G),  and  the  Stand- 
ish  Guards  (now  H).  All  others  had  been  disbanded. 
Maj.  Daniel  A.  Butler,  former  Captain  of  the  Standish 
Guards,  commanded  the  3d  Battalion.  Meanwhile  the  Cun- 
ningham Rifles  of  North  Bridgewater  or  Brockton  had  been 
organized  in  1869,  and  named  after  the  Adjutant  General, 
James  A.  Cunningham.  Originally  Co.  I  of  the  3d,  this 
command  was  transferred  to  the  ist  Battalion  of  Infantry, 
Lt.  Col.  Wales,  in  1876;  and  so  pioneered  the  way  for  the 
remainder  of  the  "Cape"  companies  to  follow  two  years 
later.  This  company  exists  today  as  the  loth  Company, 
Mass.  C.  A. 

One  cause  contributing  to  the  disappearance  of  the  3d 
Regiment  was  the  fact  that  it  was  called  upon  to  perform 
two  tours  of  duty  for  the  maintenance  of  public  order  in 
Fall  River,  first  on  Aug.  5,  1870,  continuing  three  days,  and 
again  Sept.  27,  1875,  continuing  seven  days.  Such  service 
in  connection  with  industrial  disturbance  is  exceedingly 
painful  to  the  feelings  of  the  men.  Coming  as  it  did  when 
class  sensitiveness  was  acute,  and  when  the  old  Civil  War 
veterans  were  ready  to  retire  permanently  from  active  mili- 
tary service,  it  did  much  to  break  up  the  command.  Happily 
such  a  situation  can  hardly  recur  today. 

The  3d  Regiment  participated  in  musters  with  the  ist 
Brigade  from  1866  to  1871,  the  final  one  being  held  at  Lov- 
ell's  Plain,  North  Weymouth.  In  1872  there  was  a  regi- 


126  The  Old  First 


mental  encampment  at  their  old  Civil  War  mobilization 
ground,  "Camp  Joe  Hooker,"  Lakeville. 

On  Dec.  3,  1878,  Major  Butler's  four-company  battalion 
was  consolidated  with  the  ist  and  4th  Battalions  as  part  of 
the  ist  Regiment. 


CHAPTER     IX 
SINCE    1878 

Col.  Wales'  regiment,  when  he  received  his  commission 
on  Dec.  30,  1878,  consisted  of  the  following  twelve  com- 
panies : 

1,  The  Roxbury  Artillery  or  City  Guard. 

2,  The  Boston  Light  Infantry. 

3,  The  Taunton  Light  Guard. 

4,  The  New  Bedford  City  Guards. 

5,  The  Standish  Guards  of  Plymouth. 

6,  The  Massachusetts  Guards  of  Cambridge. 

7,  The  Pierce  Light  Guard  of  Boston. 

8,  The  West  Roxbury  Rifles. 

9,  The  Taunton  City  Guard. 

10,  The  Cunningham  Rifles  of  Brockton, 
n,  The  Maverick  Rifles  of  East  Boston. 
12,  The  Fall  River  Rifles. 

The  Fusiliers  and  the  Chelsea  Rifle-Veterans  were  tempo- 
rarily detached  from  the  regiment,  and  the  Claflin  Guards 
were  gone,  never  to  return  so  far  as  we*  now  know. 

The  ist  and  8th  Companies  were  directly  from  the  ist 
Regiment.  The  2d,  6th,  7th  and  nth  Companies  came  from 
the  4th  Battalion;  the  3d  Company  came  originally  from 
the  4th  Regiment  and  immediately  from  the  3d;  the  4th, 
5th  and  Qth  Companies  were  from  the  3d  Regiment;  the 
loth  was  originally  from  the  3d  and  immediately  from  the 
ist.  A  new  I2th  Company  was  organized  on  Dec.  12,  1878, 
with  Capt.  Sierra  L.  Braley  in  command.  The  new  com- 
pany speedily  forged  to  the  head  in  efficiency  and  has  always 
been  one  of  the  three  or  four  leaders  in  the  entire  regiment. 


128  The  Old  First 


Boston  celebrated  the  25Oth  anniversary  of  its  settlement 
on  Sept.  17,  1880,  and  along  with  other  features  included  a 
magnificent  military  display.  Everyone  conceded  that,  while 
other  bodies  presented  a  fine  appearance,  the  feature  of  the 
parade  was  the  twelve-company  ist  Regiment.  That  day, 
for  the  last  time,  the  companies  wore  their  original  uni- 
forms— old  ist  Regiment,  gray  with  towering  bearskin 
shakos;  4th  Battalion,  a  semi-Zouave  costume  with  low 
shakos,  double  breasted  blue  coats,  light  blue  bloused 
knickerbockers,  and  high  leather  leggins ;  and  the  3d  Regi- 
ment, low  shakos,  short  blue  coats,  single-breasted  but  with 
three  rows  of  buttons,  and  blue  trousers.  The  regiment  was 
received  enthusiastically  by  the  people  of  Boston  and  the 
day  was  one  long  to  be  remembered. 

But  changes  were  projected  in  the  interests  of  efficiency, 
and  first  of  all,  in  that  very  year,  1880,  it  was  decided  to 
adopt  the  4th  Battalion  uniform  for  the  entire  twelve  com- 
panies. So  satisfactory  did  this  prove  that  the  Common- 
wealth utilized  the  same  costume  as  a  state  uniform,  and 
issued  it  to  all  the  organizations  of  Massachusetts  in  1884. 
Imitation  is  the  sincerest  form  of  flattery ;  but  it  can  scarcely 
be  said  that  the  ist  relished  sharing  their  distinctive  uniform 
with  all  the  militia, — they  felt  that  they  had  paid  dearly  for 
this  flattery. 

Thereafter  the  regiment  was  to  be  subjected  to  a  continu- 
ous and  intensifying  process  of  military  improvement,  at 
the  hands  first  of  the  state  authorities,  and  presently  of  the 
"Department  of  Militia  Affairs"  or  "Militia  Bureau"  in  the 
War  Department.  While  it  was  inevitable  that  there  should 
be  a  deal  of  experimentation  whose  results  were  not  always 
satisfactory,  it  remains  true  that  constant  progress  was  made 
thruout  the  ensuing  years.  National  Guardsmen,  since  they 
are  human,  are  prone  to  complain;  certainly  they  greeted 


Since  1878  129 


almost  every  innovation  with  a  chorus  of  "kicks."  But 'as 
soon  as  a  change  had  demonstrated  its  usefulness,  it  was 
heartily  welcomed.  More  and  more  time  was  demanded  of 
the  men;  and  on  the  other  hand  part  of  this  increased  ser- 
vice was  rewarded  with  increased  pay  by  the  State  or  Na- 
tion. The  four  days  of  camp  duty  required  in  1873  had 
stretched  to  fifteen  days  in  1916,  the  twelve  armory  drills 
of  early  days  to  forty-eight.  State  and  Federal  pay  were 
not  an  adequate  recompense  for  the  labor  performed;  the 
service  was  still  one  of  unselfish  patriotism.  But  the 
money  invested  by  the  authorities  in  camp  and  "rendezvous 
drill"  pay  did  unquestionably  testify  to  the  higher  esteem 
in  which,  with  the  passing  years,  the  Guard  came  to  stand. 
One  noticeable  consequence  of  the  increasing  military  strict- 
ness was  the  gradual  lowering  of  average  age  amongst  the 
companies.  Older  men  cannot  be  away  from  their  business 
or  families  for  so  many  hours  and  days,  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances. American  armies  have  always  been  made  up 
of  very  young  men ;  and  under  the  stress  of  increased  re- 
quirements, the  National  Guard  came  to  be  similarly  con- 
stituted. 

One  company  participated  in  the  exercises  connected  with 
the  funeral  of  Pres.  James  A.  Garfield  at  Cleveland  in 
1881. 

Nathaniel  Wales  was  elected  Brigadier  General  on  Feb. 
21,  1882,  and  on  Feb.  24,  Austin  C.  Wellington  became 
Colonel.  The  Tiger  battalion,  during  the  eight  years  of 
Wellington's  command,  had  become  the  most  prominent 
military  institution  in  Boston;  now  the  entire  1st  Regiment 
was  to  profit  by  the  skill  of  the  same  man,  a  skill  truly 
amounting  to  genius.  Peculiar  qualities  are  demanded  of 
one  who  is  to  succeed  in  highest  degree  as  a  National 
Guardsman.  He  must  be  a  well-trained  soldier  and  a  hard 


130  The  Old  First 


worker  as  a  matter  of  course.  He  must  command  respect 
for  his  personal  character  and  must  be  able  to  impart  knowl- 
edge to  others.  He  must  enforce  rigid  discipline,  and  must 
do  it  without  resorting  to  regular  army  methods  of  punish- 
ment. On  top  of  all,  there  has  to  be  sufficient  personal  mag- 
netism in  his  make-up  to  attract  men,  and  enthusiasm 
enough  to  overflow  and  fire  others.  This  description  of  a 
model  Guardsman  is  nothing  more  or  less  than  a  description 
of  Austin  C.  Wellington.  No  wonder  that  during  his  six 
years  of  command,  the  regiment  was  to  register  a  new 
high- water  mark  of  success. 

Now  the  old  companies  began  to  come  back.  When  in 
1883  the  Standish  Guards  suffered  disbandment,  their  place 
was  promptly  taken  by  the  company  which  had  originally 
held  it,  the  Chelsea  Rifles.  The  Taunton  Light  Guard 
ceased  to  exist  in  1884,  and  at  first,  the  vacant  3d  number 
was  filled  by  the  formation  of  a  new  company  in  Natick. 
Four  years  later  the  Natick  organization  transferred  and 
became  Co.  L  of  the  Qth,  and  then  the  Fusiliers  returned  to 
their  proper  place  as  3d  Company. 

1882  was  notable  for  the  Daniel  Webster  centennial.  Pres. 
Chester  A.  Arthur  honored  Boston  with  a  visit  on  this  occa- 
sion, and  on  Oct.  n,  the  ist  Regiment  served  as  Presidential 
escort  during  the  celebration  at  Marshfield.  The  habit  of 
visiting  distant  cities  now  grew  on  the  regiment,  so  that  on 
August  8,  1885,  they  were  found  in  New  York  participating 
in  the  tremendous  funeral  procession  in  honor  of  their  old- 
time  commander-in-chief,  U.  S.  Grant.  Their  fame  grew. 

All  Roxbury  joined  in  celebrating  the  centennial  of  its 
favorite  corps,  the  City  Guard,  in  1884.  March  22  of  that 
year  will  long  be  remembered  for  its  parade,  and  other 
demonstrations  of  affectionate  enthusiasm.  In  1886  the 
1 2th  Company  visited  Providence,  R.  L,  as  guests  of  the 


Since  1878  131 


Light  Infantry;  and  assisted  their  hosts  to  celebrate  in  fit- 
ting manner  the  two  hundred  fiftieth  anniversary  of  Rhode 
Island's  settlement.  1887  brought  the  Fusilier  centennial; 
and  was  likewise  properly  observed. 

In  1887  the  United  States  celebrated  the  centenary  of  the 
signing  of  its  constitution,  choosing  Philadelphia,  where  the 
document  had  been  drafted,  as  the  place  for  the  demonstra- 
tion. Massachusetts  decided  to  send  Gov.  Oliver  Ames  and 
to  provide,  as  his  military  escort,  the  most  proficient  regi- 
ment in  the  State.  It  was  not  necessary  to  lose  any  time 
searching  for  the  regiment — orders  were  promptly  issued 
to  Col.  Wellington,  that  he  prepare  his  command  for  the 
Philadelphia  trip,  the  Commonwealth  to  pay  expenses. 
Sept.  15  found  the  regiment  on  its  way  to  Philadelphia, 
Sept.  1 6  saw  them  marching  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
units  of  the  great  parade  under  command  of  Gen.  Philip 
H.  Sheridan,  while  Sept.  17  was  signalized  by  their  return 
to  Boston.  D.  W.  Reeves  was  band-leader  that  year — no 
unworthy  successor  to  Fillebrown  and  Gilmore — and  he 
contributed,  as  his  share  in  the  event,  a  new  march,  "The 
March  of  the  First."  Chaplain  Minot  J.  Savage,  who  added 
to  his  gift  of  eloquence  the  rarer  talent  of  poetry,  wrote 
words  for  Reeves'  music, 

"We're  brothers  of  all  noble  men, 

Who  wear  our  country's  blue; 
We  brothers  find  in  any  race, 

Where  men  are  brave  and  true. 
But  we've  a  pride  in  our  own  band, 

And  we  are  all  agreed, 
Whatever  grand  deeds  others  do, 

The  'Old  First'  still  shall  lead." 

The  fame  of  the  regiment  became  nation-wide  as  a  conse- 
quence of  the  Philadelphia  trip. 

Col.  Wellington's  most  notable  innovation  was  the  in- 


132  The  Old  First 


troduction  of  artillery  instruction,  or  the  re-introduction, 
as  it  was  for  those  companies  originally  in  the  old  First. 
The  change  was  made  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  drills 
more  interesting.  It  is  easier  to  maintain  the  interest  of 
artillerymen — they  have  their  guns  as  a  rallying-point. 
Moreover  the  artillery  virus  was  in  the  ist  Regiment  blood 
and  was  bound  eventually  to  manifest  its  presence. 

That  year  of  Col.  Wellington's  accession,  1882,  the  legis- 
lature appropriated  $5,000  for  the  construction  of  "Battery 
Dalton"  at  Framingham.  Named  in  honor  of  the  Adjutant 
General,  Samuel  Dalton,  it  was  truly  a  marvelous  work  of 
coast  defence.  Its  mortars  had  a  range  of  five  hundred 
yards.  After  firing  the  projectile,  the  cannoneers  walked 
over  and  solemnly  dug  the  same  up  from  its  self-made 
grave,  and  fired  it  over  again.  Artillery  practice  was 
economically  conducted  in  those  pioneer  days.  Sept.  13, 
1883,  the  regiment  was  permitted  to  hold  one  day's  practice 
at  Fort  Warren,  a  great  concession  by  the  War  Department, 
and  a  long  step  in  artillery  progress.  Sept.  4,  1885,  one 
month  after  the  Grant  funeral,  the  privilege  of  artillery 
practice  was  repeated. 

A  riot  in  Cambridge  brought  the  6th  Company  into  active 
service  for  two  days  on  Feb.  21  and  22,  1887. 

Col.  Wellington's  death  occurred  while  he  still  filled  the 
office  of  regimental  commander,  on  Sept.  18,  1888.  The 
funeral  is  said  to  have  been  the  saddest  tour  of  duty  ever 
performed  by  the  regiment,  an  expression  of  heart-felt 
grief.  They  were  then  looking  forward  to  occupying  the  new 
South  Armory;  and  everyone  contributed  the  entire  pay 
received  for  the  day  toward  the  expenses  of  a  memorial 
room  in  the  building.  This  money  equipped  and  furnished 
the  gymnasium  in  the  tower,  the  room  now  devoted  to  the 
war-game. 


Since  1878  133 


Thomas  R.  Mathews,  Colonel  from  Dec.  10,  1888,  until 
July  19,  1897,  had  served  in  the  2d  Company  during  the 
Civil  War,  and  had  subsequently  been  Captain  of  the  ist 
Co.  (in  1880).  On  Oct.  8,  1888,  just  before  Col.  Mathews' 
election,  the  regiment  took  part  in  a  general  mobilization 
of  militia  in  Boston.  On  Thanksgiving  day,  Nov.  28,  1889, 
the  Boston  companies  were  assembled  at  the  armories  in 
readiness  for  service  in  maintaining  public  order  at  a  great 
fire  then  raging.  Fortunately  they  did  not  have  to  leave  their 
stations. 

Prior  to  1890  the  Companies  had  been  quartered  in  vari- 
ous halls  and  rinks  of  Boston  and  the  suburbs,  Faneuil  Hall 
being  the  most  coveted  location,  unavailable,  however,  most 
of  the  time,  and  Boylston  Hall,  Boylston  and  Washington 
Streets,  ranking  next. 

1890  was  the  date  of  the  South  Armory  dedication.  Mas- 
sachusetts had  entered,  after  long  years  of  discussion,  upon 
her  policy  of  providing  adequate  accommodations  for  her 
volunteer  militia.  New  York  had  led  the  way  ten  years 
earlier ;  and  the  Massachusetts  authorities  were  especially  in- 
debted to  the  N.  Y.  7th  for  providing  an  armory  after 
which  others  could  pattern.  It  is  a  far  cry  from  the  7th's 
building  to  that  on  Irvington  St.,  but  there  is  a  similarity 
of  type.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  South  Armory 
was  relatively  one  of  the  best  in  the  country  when  the  ist 
Regiment  occupied  it  in  1890.  Nor  had  the  railroad  de- 
veloped into  such  a  nuisance  at  that  time.  The  South 
Armory  was  the  first  State  armory  in  Massachusetts;  and 
led  the  way  for  the  entire  series,  by  means  of  which  our 
troops  are  quartered  as  well  as  any  in  the  land;  its  dedica- 
tion was  an  important  event  in  military  history.  Fall  River 
followed,  and  dedicated  her  State  armory  in  1895,  Cam- 
bridge and  New  Bedford  in  1903,  Brockton  in  1906,  Chelsea 


134  The  Old  First 


in  1907,  and  Taunton  in  1917.  Chelsea  and  Brockton  sub- 
sequently lost  their  buildings  by  fire;  the  structures  were 
rebuilt  respectively  in  1909  and  1912. 

Col.  Mathews'  command  served  as  personal  escort  to 
Gov.  William  E.  Russell,  Feb.  29,  1892,  at  the  ceremony 
of  presenting  Massachusetts'  first  long-service  medals. 
Amongst  others,  twenty-eight  officers  and  men  of  the  ist 
received  medals. 

An  artillery  tour  was  held  at  Fort  Warren,  Aug.  7  to  13, 
1892,  when  the  men  had  practice  on  the  eight-inch  muzzle- 
loading  converted  rifles  and  the  fifteen-inch  muzzle-loading 
smooth-bores.  Modern  coast  artillery  had  not  yet  "ar- 
rived"; but  the  regiment  was  making  progress.  In  1893 
they  encamped  at  Framingham  and  manned  "Battery  Dai- 
ton'*  once  more.  In  1895  they  had  their  last  experience  with 
these  twelve-inch  mortars — and  the  sand-bank  five  hundred 
yards  away;  1894,  1896  and  1897  saw  them  at  Fort  Warren 
each  summer.  In  1896  the  regulars  did  not  take  them  seri- 
ously and  could  not  "waste  time"  instructing  the  militia- 
men; in  1897,  with  Lieut.  Erasmus  M.  Weaver  temporarily 
detailed  as  instructor,  the  regiment  made  progress.  There- 
after, until  1911,  regular  officers  from  the  forts  added  to 
their  other  service  the  duty  of  visiting  the  South  Armory 
and  coaching  the  militia  regiment. 

All  twelve  companies  were  ordered  to  be  in  readiness  on 
March  10,  1893,  for  service  in  connection  with  the  disas- 
trous "Lincoln  St.  fire,"  but  were  not  marched  out  of  the 
armories. 

The  state  expended  $2,500  in  1894  providing  a  model 
battery  at  the  South  Armory.  While  crude  compared  with 
the  huge  gun  and  mortar  installed  in  1913,  to  which  the 
name  "Battery  Lombard"  is  sometimes  given,  this  earlier 


Since  1878  135 


artillery  installation  marked  a  long  advance  in  drills  and 
instruction. 

On  Oct.  9,  1894,  the  regiment  again  participated  in  a  gen- 
eral mobilization  of  the  militia  at  Boston.  The  monument 
to  Robert  Gould  Shaw,  on  the  Common,  was  formally  dedi- 
cated May  31,  1897,  and  the  regiment  paraded  in  honor  of 
the  event.  One  feature  of  the  day  recalled  certain  historic 
processions  of  thirty  years  previously — the  New  York  7th, 
in  which  Col.  Shaw  had  once  served,  came  on  to  have  a 
share  in  this  demonstration  of  affection. 

On  June  I,  1897,  by  act  of  the  legislature,  the  regiment 
received  a  new  name — it  became  the  1st  Regiment  of  Heavy 
Artillery.  In  point  of  fact  it  had  begun  to  separate  from 
the  ist  Brigade  back  in  Col.  Wellington's  time,  and  had  be- 
come increasingly  committed  to  the  artillery  branch;  this 
act  of  legislation  officially  recognized  a  transition  which  had 
already  taken  place.  Now  the  facings  on  the  uniforms 
could  be  changed  from  the  blue  of  infantry  to  the  brighter 
and  more  distinctive  scarlet.  Massachusetts  was  the  first 
state  to  have  heavy  artillery  in  its  militia — the  old  regiment 
was  again  "first."  Companies  were  rechristened  "batteries" 
in  connection  with  the  change  of  service. 

Col.  Mathews  became  Brigadier  General  on  July  19,  1897, 
and  Charles  Pfaff  succeeded  as  Colonel  on  July  28.  Col. 
Pfaff's  military  training  had  been  in  the  Cadets,  and  as  Cap- 
tain of  the  8th  Company,  Coast  Artillery ;  and  he  had  served 
four  years  as  Major.  To  him  was  to  fall  the  honor  of 
commanding  the  regiment  during  its  Spanish  War  service. 

There  was  nothing  unexpected  about  the  war  with  Spain. 
From  the  day  the  "Maine"  was  destroyed  until  April  25, 
when  war  was  declared,  more  than  two  months  elapsed. 
Members  of  the  command  were  in  constant  readiness  during 
this  entire  period  for  the  summons  which  they  knew  must 


136  The  Old  First 


come;  and  it  was  well  understood  that  instant  mobilization 
would  ensue  upon  receipt  of  orders. 

But  if  we  had  reason  to  be  in  readiness,  we  also 
had  good  cause  to  anticipate  danger  and  hardship.  The 
United  States  was  notorious  for  lack  of  preparedness,  both 
by  land  and  sea.  On  the  other  hand  the  might  of  the  Span- 
ish fleet  and  the  fame  of  the  "Spanish  infantry"  had  been 
so  magnified  that  much  popular  trepidation  existed.  Boston 
anticipated  instant  attack ;  merchants  and  bankers  deposited 
their  treasure  with  inland  banks;  while  real  estate  owners 
were  insistent  that  the  national  government  should  afford 
them  protection.  Col.  Pfaff  and  his  men  were  to  volunteer 
in  the  belief  that  they  would  meet  with  instant  and  active 
fighting.  Beyond  question  the  general  public  drew  a  deep 
sigh  of  relief  as  the  blue-clad  column,  on  that  fateful  26th 
of  April,  to  the  music  of  the  "March  of  the  First,"  swung 
steadily  down  Huntington  Ave.  The  out-of-town  commands 
had  left  their  home  stations  early  and  received  Godspeed 
from  newsboys  and  milkmen  only.  In  Boston,  however, 
the  display  of  enthusiasm  left  nothing  to  be  desired;  and 
demonstrated  not  only  the  city's  dependence  upon  its  heavy 
artillerymen  but  also  its  real  affection  for  the  red-legged 
organization.  They  were  paid  from  April  25. 

Besides  Col.  Pfaff,  the  regimental  officers  were :  Lt.  Col., 
Charles  B.  Woodman;  Majors,  Perlie  A.  Dyar,  George  F. 
Quinby,  James  A.  Frye;  Captains,  ist  Co.,  Joseph  H.  Froth- 
ingham;  2d  Co.,  Frederic  S.  Howes;  3<1  Co.,  Albert  B. 
Chick;  4th  Co.,  Joseph  L.  Gibbs;  5th  Co.,  Walter  L.  Pratt; 
6th  Co.,  Walter  E.  Lombard;  ?th  Co.,  Charles  P.  Nutter; 
8th  Co.,  John  Bordman,  Jr.;  9th  Co.,  Norris  O.  Danforth; 
loth  Co.,  Charles  Williamson;  nth  Co.,  Frederick  M. 
Whiting;  i2th  Co.,  Sierra  L.  Braley.  Capt.  Braley  had  been 
private  and  corporal  in  the  3d  Reg.  during  its  nine-months 


Since  1878  137 


service  in  1862.  He  had  been  2d  Lieutenant  in  Battery  I,  2d 
Mass.  Heavy  Art.,  and  in  Bat.  L,  I4th  U.  S.  Colored  Art., 
during  1864  and  1865.  From  1866  until  1878  he  continu- 
ously held  commissions  in  the  3d  Reg.  and,  after  1878,  in 
the  ist,  his  latest  command  being  the  I2th  Company.  Capt. 
Braley  was  the  only  officer  of  the  regiment  to  serve  in  both 
the  Civil  and  Spanish  Wars. 

On  April  26  the  regiment  began  active  duty  at  Fort 
Warren,  the  orders  reading  that  they  would  encamp  there 
for  eight  days.  Five  more  days  were  added  to  this;  and 
then  the  command  was  taken  into  the  U.  S.  service  "for 
the  war."  Since  the  thirteen  days  of  state  duty  is  added 
to  the  total  in  computing  their  record,  they  were  the  first 
regiment  of  the  entire  nation  to  begin  war  service.  The  Old 
First  still  led. 

When  they  left  the  armory  for  Fort  Warren,  there  were 
only  six  men  absent  from  the  command — four  sick  and  two 
out  of  the  country.  Opportunity  was  later  given  for  men 
with  families  to  withdraw,  if  they  desired;  and  all  were 
subjected  to  a  rigid  physical  examination.  Ultimately  three 
per  cent,  were  rejected  for  disability  and  eight  per  cent, 
excused  for  family  reasons.  These  vacancies  were  immedi- 
ately filled  from  the  throngs  of  would-be  recruits  who  vol- 
unteered. It  was  a  disappointment  to  the  regiment  that  the 
War  Department  never  permitted  them  to  increase  their 
numbers  to  the  full  war  strength;  their  Spanish  War 
roster  bore  751  names. 

They  started  out  in  the  rain  on  April  26,  and  it  seemed  as 
if  it  would  rain  until  they  returned;  during  their  first  six 
weeks,  they  were  blest  with  sunshine  only  three  days.  By 
and  by,  when  they  had  ceased  to  care,  the  weather  changed 
and  they  had  sunny  days.  At  Warren  they  were  quartered 
in  wooden  buildings,  originally  election  booths  in  the  city; 


138  The  Old  First 


prisoners  from  Deer  Island  were  imported  to  assist  in  erect- 
ing these ;  and  some  humorist  promptly  designated  them  the 
"3d  Corps  of  Cadets."  While  in  the  state  service,  the  regi- 
ment was  fed  by  a  caterer,  after  the  fashion  then  prevalent 
at  Framingham.  When  they  became  U.  S.  soldiers,  they 
messed  themselves.  All  thru  this  war,  ammunition  was 
very  scarce  indeed.  The  least  a  self-respecting  military 
post  can  do  is  to  fire  morning  and  evening  guns;  this  was 
possible  in  1898  only  by  cutting  cartridges  in  two  and  using 
half -charges.  Most  of  the  ordnance  was  of  Civil  War  vint- 
age, or  very  slightly  more  modern. 

Spain  had  been  vastly  over-rated,  and  there  was  very 
little  fight  in  her.  The  regiment  passed  a  busy  and  profit- 
able month  at  Fort  Warren  from  April  26  to  May  30,  being 
mustered  into  the  United  States  service  on  May  7.  During 
these  weeks  the  companies  or  "batteries"  attained  a  high 
degree  of  proficiency  in  both  infantry  and  artillery  drill. 
Shortly  after  midnight  on  May  13  the  Engineers'  steamer, 
the  "Tourist,"  came  down  the  harbor  from  the  Navy  Yard 
to  announce  that  the  Spanish  fleet  had  actually  been  sighted 
off  Nantucket.  But  men  watched  in  vain  for  the  enemy 
vessels  to  appear. 

On  Memorial  day,  thru  the  exigency  of  service  conditions, 
the  companies  were  moved  and  distributed  along  the  coast 
at  posts  ranging  from  Portsmouth  to  New  Bedford.  Maj. 
Frye  and  the  Cape  companies  remained  at  Warren.  Lt.  Col. 
Woodman  with  the  3d  and  nth  Companies  garrisoned  the 
fort  at  Clark's  Point,  New  Bedford,  a  work  which  had  been 
in  existence  since  1857  but  which  awaited  July  23,  1898,  and 
these  companies  as  godfathers,  before  it  was  christened 
Fort  Rodman.  The  Colonel,  Headquarters,  and  the  remain- 
ing six  companies  proceeded  by  boat  to  various  points  along 
the  North  Shore,  at  some  of  which  militia  field  artillery 


Since  1878  139 


batteries  had  previously  been  on  guard,  the  Colonel  himself 
being  stationed  at  Salem  in  command  of  the  entire  Essex 
County  district.  This  transfer  of  troops  was  accomplished 
without  peril  or  even  discomfort.  The  ist  and  7th  Com- 
panies under  Maj.  Dyar  became  the  garrison  at  Salem ;  Maj. 
Quinby  and  the  2d  Company  were  at  Gloucester;  the  6th 
Company  was  on  Plum  Island  near  Newburyport,  and  sub- 
sequently at  Portsmouth ;  the  5th  Company  at  Marblehead ; 
and  the  8th  at  Nahant  as  guard  of  the  mining-casemate. 
Lieuts.  E.  D wight  Fullerton  of  the  8th  Company  and  P. 
Frank  Packard  of  the  2d  were  specially  detailed  to  duty 
with  the  regulars  at  Fort  Columbus,  Governor's  Island, 
New  York,  and  remained  there  several  months.  Lieut. 
Fullerton  was  called  upon  to  untangle  the  snarl  into  which 
the  War  Department  had  gotten  with  regard  to  records  of 
sick  soldiers  in  the  New  York  hospitals. 

It  fell  to  the  lot  of  certain  "batteries"  to  reconstruct  and 
man  ancient  earthworks  whose  history  ran  back  many  years. 
At  Salem,  Fort  Pickering  was  put  in  commission;  at 
Gloucester,  the  old  Stage  Fort  where  Myles  Standish  once 
came  near  having  a  battle ;  near  Portsmouth,  Forts  Constitu- 
tion and  McClary;  and  at  Marblehead,  Fort  Sewall.  This 
is  very  romantic  to  relate.  No  doubt  the  renovated  works 
with  their  armament  of  obsolete  field  pieces  could  have 
afforded  some  protection  against  Spanish  raiders.  But 
those  who  were  called  upon  to  occupy  works  built  for 
seventeenth,  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  century  warfare, 
and  modernize  them  so  as  to  render  them  useful  under 
twentieth  century  conditions,  agree  in  testifying  that  the 
romance  is  all  in  the  narrative  and  not  any  in  the  fact.  The 
6th  Company  had  at  first  been  stationed  in  an  earthwork 
on  the  Plum  Island  beach  which  had  been  constructed  by  the 
field  battery,  whom  they  relieved;  as  Plum  Island,  in 


140  The  Old  First 


June,  is  notable  chiefly  for  flies  and  fleas,  this  company  was 
glad  enough  when  the  transfer  to  Portsmouth  brought  the 
men  again  on  solid  ground.  Fort  Constitution  had  a  long 
history — it  used  to  be  known  as  Fort  William  and  Mary, 
and  from  its  ancient  magazine  came  the  powder  used  by  the 
patriots  at  Bunker  Hill;  but  in  1898  it  was  a  comparatively 
modern  work,  and  mounted  a  battery  of  eight-inch  rifles. 

This  Spanish  War  service  is  something  of  which  the  regi- 
ment are  justly  proud.  On  April  26,  Col.  Pfaff  led  99  per 
cent,  of  the  full  militia  strength  of  his  command  into  the 
harbor  forts,  itself  a  conclusive  demonstration  that  the  Na- 
tional Guard  is  a  dependable  force.  Foremost  were  they  in 
the  entire  United  States  to  assume  their  post  of  duty.  First 
of  all  volunteers  were  they  to  be  mustered  in;  the  genius 
of  "The  Old  First"  was  in  control.  Thruout  the  entire  two- 
hundred-three  days  of  duty  they  maintained  the  very  highest 
standards  of  efficiency  and  discipline.  It  noway  lessened 
the  credit  belonging  to  these  volunteer  soldiers  that  the 
Spaniards  were  so  wise  as  to  keep  at  a  safe  distance  from 
the  Massachusetts  coast;  the  warmest  kind  of  a  welcome 
was  awaiting  them,  had  they  come.  When  on  Nov.  14,  the 
command  were  mustered  out  of  Federal  service  and  re- 
turned to  the  militia,  they  had  added  a  most  creditable 
chapter  to  the  long  annals  of  their  organization. 

In  1899  a  tour  of  duty  was  performed  at  Fort  Rodman; 
and  so  satisfactory  did  it  prove  that  the  post  was  chosen 
for  the  annual  coast  defence  exercises,  with  one  exception, 
until  1906.  In  1902  some  companies  were  stationed  at  Fort 
Greble  and  other  Rhode  Island  posts.  The  only  serious 
objections  to  Rodman  were  the  haze  and  fog,  which  hang 
low  over  Buzzard's  Bay.  As  a  consequence  of  the  Spanish 
War,  the  flannel  shirt  and  the  khaki  suit  became  part  of  the 
regimental  uniform.  Oct.  14,  1899,  the  regiment  partici- 


Since  1878  141 


pated  in  the  ovation  to  Admiral  George  Dewey,  and  at  the 
same  time  turned  their  Spanish  War  flags  and  colors  over 
to  the  custody  of  the  State.  Col.  Pfaff  retired  as  Brigadier 
General  Apr.  20,  1900.  His  loyal  and  generous  interest  in 
the  old  regiment  has  been  shown  in  making  possible  the 
publication  of  this  history. 

Col.  James  A.  Frye,  who  commanded  the  regiment  from 
May  4,  1900,  until  Jan.  4,  1906,  had  served  as  Major  during 
the  Spanish  War.  Upon  relinquishing  command  of  the  regi- 
ment, he  became  Adj.  Gen.  of  the  State.  Col.  Frye  was  the 
one  selected  to  record  the  services  of  the  command  during 
the  Spanish  War;  and  his  history  will  always  stand  as  a 
worthy  monument  to  his  memory. 

In  1903  the  regiment  participated  in  joint  coast  defence 
and  naval  maneuvers  at  Portland  harbor,  of  which  the  chief 
feature  was  the  long  hours.  The  men  were  on  duty  all  day 
and  all  night,  so  that  sleeping  almost  became  a  forgotten 
art.  On  June  25,  1903,  the  Coast  Artillery  shared  in  the 
exercises  of  dedication  around  the  magnificent  statue  of 
their  old  commander,  Gen.  Joseph  Hooker.  Members  of 
the  regiment  had  been  foremost  in  securing  the  appropria- 
tion for  the  statue ;  and  heartily  did  they  rejoice  to  see  the 
beautiful  bronze  by  D.  C.  French  which  finally  crowned 
their  labor. 

1903  witnessed  the  most  important  national  militia  legisla- 
tion since  the  original  militia  act  of  1792.  By  the  "Dick  law," 
with  amendments  added  in  1908,  the  militia  really  became  a 
national  force,  with  clearly  defined  liability  of  service;  and 
the  name,  National  Guard,  was  officially  conferred  upon  it. 
Nevertheless  Massachusetts  continued  to  call  her  citizen 
soldiers  Volunteer  Militia.  1904  brought  the  adoption  of 
magazine-rifles. 

On  Nov.  i,  1905,  the  regiment  was  redesignated  as  the 


142  The  Old  First 


"Corps  of  Coast  Artillery,"  a  title  which  has  been  used  by 
anticipation  at  various  times  in  this  book.  Behind  the 
change  lay  the  fact  that  the  War  Department  had  been  test- 
ing militia  heavy  or  coast  artillery ;  and  the  latter,  in  the  es- 
timation of  the  Washington  authorities,  were  not  found  want- 
ing. A  regiment  is  a  closely  united  body,  and  is  supposed 
to  operate  as  a  unit.  A  corps,  on  the  contrary,  is  a  group 
of  smaller  units  associated  for  administrative  purposes,  but 
acting  more  or  less  independently  in  warfare.  Tactically  a 
corps  is  not  a  unit;  each  of  its  members  is.  Inasmuch  as 
few  forts  require  so  much  as  a  full  regiment  of  coast  artil- 
lery to  garrison  them,  it  was  deemed  best  to  organize  the 
artillery  in  smaller  units,  in  companies,  better  suited  to  the 
needs  of  the  average  fort.  Companies  are  combined  in  fort 
commands  of  two  or  more  each.  Moreover,  by  1905,  a  clear 
distinction  had  arisen  between  coast  artillery  and  heavy 
artillery;  and  it  was  necessary  for  organizations  to  decide 
which  branch  of  the  service  they  would  choose.  Heavy 
artillery  follows  a  mobile  army,  and  is  used  to  batter  down 
fortifications.  Coast  artillery  mans  the  guns  and  submarine 
mines  of  our  coast  fortifications,  and  is  not  a  mobile  force. 
A  moment's  consideration  will  convince  anyone  that  the 
Massachusetts  men  chose  the  more  exciting  branch,  when 
they  became  coast  artillery.  The  heavy  artillery  fire  from 
great  distances,  while  themselves  entirely  out  of  range  of 
any  answering  shots,  and  fire  at  fixed  targets.  The  coast 
artillery  fire  at  ships,  moving  targets  possessing  the  ability 
to  return  our  shots,  who  will  certainly  and  quickly  "get 
us"  unless  we  "get  them"  first.  An  increase  of  interest 
in  the  scientific  side  of  artillery  work  immediately  followed, 
and  stimulated  every  officer  and  enlisted  man  to  do  his  best. 
Companies  were  no  longer  termed  "batteries,"  but  were 
given  numbers,  the  designations  indicating  seniority  of 


Since  1878  143 


charter.  The  band  continued  to  wear  the  old  regimental 
number  "i"  on  their  uniforms. 

To  the  twelve  companies  of  the  Corps  were,  in  1907, 
assigned  regular  stations  in  the  fortifications  of  Boston 
harbor,  to  which  it  would  be  their  duty  to  repair  at  once  in 
case  of  threatened  hostilities.  As  they  exercised  each  sum- 
mer on  the  very  guns  which  they  would  man  in  actual  ser- 
vice, they  grew  familiar  with  their  work  to  a  degree  never 
before  possible.  After  experimenting  at  seven  different 
posts,  in  1913  the  ist,  2d,  3d,  and  6th  Companies  became 
part  of  the  garrison  of  Fort  Strong  on  Long  Island  (named 
in  honor  of  Gen.  Wm.  K.  Strong)  ;  the  5th,  7th,  8th  and 
nth  Companies  were  assigned  to  Fort  Andrews;  and  the 
4th,  9th,  loth  and  I2th  Companies  to  Fort  Warren. 

Col.  Charles  P.  Nutter  commanded  the  Corps  from  Jan. 
23,  1906,  until  March  10,  1910 ;  he  had  been  Captain  of  the 
7th  Company  during  the  Spanish  War.  In  August,  1907, 
the  companies  participated  in  a  general  mobilization  of 
militia  at  Boston  in  connection  with  the  "old  home  week" 
celebration.  The  War  Department  now  determined  to  make 
a  slight  change  in  the  name  of  the  organization,  perhaps  in 
the  interest  of  alphabetic  symmetry.  Whatever  the  cause 
may  have  been,  on  Nov.  15,  1907,  the  words  were  transposed 
and  the  "Corps  of  Coast  Artillery"  became  the  "Coast 
Artillery  Corps." 

It  had  been  so  long  since  the  Boston  companies  were 
called  out  to  maintain  public  order  at  a  great  fire,  that  such 
a  contingency  was  not  regarded  seriously.  Suddenly,  on 
April  12,  1908,  as  men  were  returning  from  Palm  Sunday 
services,  they  received  word  that  Chelsea  was  in  the  clutch 
of  a  mammoth  conflagration.  Vast  clouds  of  smoke  could 
be  seen  arising  on  the  north-eastern  horizon;  Boston's 
neighbor  was  indeed  stricken. 


144  The  Old  First 


The  5th  Company  promptly  responded  to  the  call  for 
help;  but  it  was  evident  that  assistance  must  come  from 
outside;  local  forces  were  entirely  inadequate  to  meet  the 
emergency.  At  5  p.  M.  the  other  companies  were  assembled 
at  their  armories ;  and  at  8.30,  after  eating  a  hearty  supper, 
they  started  for  their  posts  of  duty.  The  work  was  of  the 
usual  sort,  rescuing  property  and  saving  lives,  guarding  the 
property  from  vandals  and  thieves,  and  assisting  the  young, 
the  weak  and  the  aged  to  places  of  safety.  Only  men  in 
uniform  command  confidence  at  such  a  season  of  disorder; 
only  disciplined  men,  working  together,  can  accomplish 
results.  Right  nobly  did  the  Corps  meet  its  responsibilities 
during  its  three  days  in  Chelsea,  and  many  a  firm  friend  did 
it  win  for  the  organization.  The  5th  Company  continued 
on  duty  five  days  longer. 

Upon  the  local  company  fell  an  especially  cruel  test. 
First,  their  new  State  armory  came  in  the  path  of  the  flames 
and  was  swept  to  ruins — while  the  troops,  on  duty  in  the 
streets,  were  aware  that  their  own  civilian  clothing  in  the 
lockers  was  going  up  in  smoke.  Worse  yet,  the  fire  spread 
until  it  involved  the  homes  of  many  militiamen.  The  sol- 
diers could  hardly  keep  their  thoughts  on  their  work,  while 
their  own  loved  ones  were  in  danger,  and  their  own  house- 
hold effects  in  need  of  removal  to  places  of  safety;  their 
minds  wandered  homeward — but  the  men  themselves  quietly 
kept  their  posts.  There  never  has  been  any  question  about 
the  discipline  of  the  Corps  in  seasons  of  emergency;  the 
5th  Company  proved  true  to  the  ancient  traditions. 

Companies  of  the  Corps  had  been  visiting  Washington  at 
inauguration  time  ever  since  1835 ;  and  almost  the  entire 
command  went  in  honor  of  T.  Roosevelt  in  1905;  finally, 
in  1909,  the  Corps  went  as  a  regiment  and  participated  in 
the  inaugural  parade  of  President  William  H.  Taft.  Partic- 


THE   AUTHOR 


COL.  GEORGE  F.  QUIXF.Y 
Page  151 


COL.    E.    DWIGHT    FULLERTOX 

Page  147 


Since  1878  145 


ipants  in  such  a  parade  invite  comparison  between  them- 
selves and  troops  from  many  other  states — military  critics, 
such  as  Maj.  Gen.  J.  Franklin  Bell  and  Brig.  Gen.  E.  M. 
Weaver,  were  unanimous  in  asserting  that  the  Mass.  Coast 
Artillery  Corps  and  the  West  Point  Cadets  bore  off  the  palm 
for  fine  military  appearance,  not  even  the  N.  Y.  7th  doing 
as  well. 

By  1909  the  Corps  had  settled  in,  its  custom  of  holding 
coast  defence  exercises  at  the  harbor  forts;  consequently, 
it  was  with  disappointment  and  even  resentment  that  they 
found  themselves  ordered  to  serve  as  infantry  in  the  so- 
called  Cape  maneuvers  in  August  of  that  year.  A  difference 
of  opinion  had  arisen  between  the  Adjutant  General  of  Mas- 
sachusetts and  the  Corps  officers  concerning  money  matters ; 
and  this  tour  of  duty  was  laid  on  the  latter  as  a  penalty. 
Soldiers  must  obey  orders;  however  irksome  and  unwel- 
come the  service,  no  one  in  the  "blue  army"  could  truthfully 
say  that  the  "red-legged  infantry"  fell  below  their  comrades 
in  efficiency. 

Col.  Walter  E.  Lombard  was  in  command  from  March 
17,  1910,  until  Feb.  21,  1915.  At  the  latter  date  he  became 
a  Major  General  on  the  retired  list.  Col.  Lombard  had 
been  Captain  of  the  6th  Company  during  the  Spanish  War. 

In  June,  1911,  the  War  Department  detailed  a  regular 
army  officer  to  the  Corps  as  Inspector-instructor,  Capt. 
Russell  P.  Reeder  being  the  first  to  perform  that  duty;  at 
once  the  standards  of  instruction  were  improved,  and  the 
artillery  work  profited  greatly  from  the  presence  of  such  a 
skilled  teacher.  Sergeant-instructors,  four  in  number,  were 
presently  added  as  assistants  to  the  commissioned  officer 
who  performed  the  chief  duties.  An  immediate  result  of  the 
Inspector-instructor's  work  was  the  wonderful  shooting  done 
by  the  4th,  I2tfi  and  other  companies  during  the  1911  tour 


146  The  Old  First 


of  duty.  After  that  date  all  officers  were  required  to  qualify 
in  the  technical  part  of  their  work  by  passing  regular  War 
Department  examinations.  The  fourth  officer  to  fill  this 
detail,  Capt.  William  H.  Wilson,  commenced  service  in  Jan., 
1915,  and  soon  succeeded  in  systematizing  the  work  of  drill 
and  instruction  to  a  point  far  beyond  anything  previously 
attempted;  so  that  his  term  of  duty  brought  about  a  great 
increase  of  Corps  efficiency.  Capt.  Wilson  was  especially 
qualified  for  this  service  in  that  he  had  himself  been  a  Na- 
tional Guardsman,  and  had  entered  the  U.  S.  army  from  a 
New  York  regiment.  Capt.  Wilson  not  only  emphasized  the 
artillery  work;  he  also  laid  stress  upon  matters  thitherto 
slighted, — company  administration,  higher  infantry,  and 
gunners'  instruction. 

Again  in  March,  1913,  the  entire  Corps  made  its  custom- 
ary pilgrimage  to  Washington  for  the  purpose  of  partici- 
pating in  the  Presidential  inauguration,  this  time  paying  the 
honor  to  Woodrow  Wilson.  As  in  1909,  so  now,  they  were 
most  enthusiastically  praised  for  their  fine  military  appear- 
ance and  splendid  marching.  On  May  30,  1913,  the  Gate 
City  Guard  of  Atlanta,  Ga.,  visited  Boston  as  guests  of  the 
Tigers.  1913  was  the  fifteenth  anniversary  of  the  regiment's 
service  in  the  Spanish  war ;  and  on  Sept.  20,  Col.  Lombard 
tendered  a  review  on  the  Common  to  the  veterans.  On  that 
occasion  active  officers  marched  with  the  veterans,  in  the 
positions  which  they  had  filled  fifteen  years  previously.  Lt. 
Col.  Woodman  was  in  command  of  the  veterans,  and  Col. 
Lombard  marched  as  Captain  of  the  6th  Company;  while 
Maj.  Shedd  led  the  actives.  After  the  parade,  there  was 
a  collation,  followed  by  motion  pictures,  in  the  Armory. 

So  well  had  the  5th  Company  acquitted  themselves  at  the 
Chelsea  fire  that  they  were  one  of  the  commands  called 
out  to  maintain  order  at  Salem  when,  on  June  25,  1914,  that 


Since  1878  147 


ancient  city  was  threatened  with  destruction;  the  emer- 
gency was  similar  to  that  of  1908.  To  the  Chelsea  men  fell 
the  duty  of  organizing  a  huge  camp  of  refugees  at  Forest 
River  park;  and  they  remained  in  service  seven  days. 

Joseph  Hooker  was  born  Nov.  13,  1814,  and  exactly  one 
hundred  years  later,  his  loyal  admirers,  among  whom  were 
numbered  the  officers  of  the  Coast  Artillery  Corps,  paraded, 
and  participated  in  a  great  meeting  at  Tremont  Temple  in 
honor  of  his  memory.  Capt.  Isaac  P.  Gragg,  former  Captain 
of  the  ist  Company,  was  always  the  prime  mover  in  organ- 
izing celebrations  in  memory  of  Hooker,  and  he  justly  felt 
that  the  event  of  1914  was  the  culmination  of  his  life-work. 
Alas!  Capt.  Gragg  did  not  long  survive  the  centennial  of 
his  beloved  commander. 

Edward  Dwight  Fullerton  was  elected  Colonel  Feb.  9, 
1915,  and  continued  in  command  until  retired  as  Brigadier 
General,  January  16,  1917;  he  had  served  as  ist  Lieutenant 
of  the  8th  Company  during  the  Spanish  War. 

The  "House  of  Governors"  was  in  session  at  Boston  in 
Aug.,  1915,  and  Gov.  David  I.  Walsh  ordered  a  mobilization 
of  the  militia  on  Aug.  26,  as  a  compliment  to  the  State's 
guests.  As  the  authorized  strength  of  the  companies  had 
recently  been  raised,  the  Boston  papers  commented  upon 
the  appearance  of  the  Corps,  in  fifteen  platoons  of  twenty 
files,  as  "wonderful,"  not  only  for  numbers,  but  for  steady 
marching. 

President  Wilson  called  the  militia  out  for  service  on  the 
Mexican  border  June  18,  1916.  Massachusetts  shared  with 
New  Jersey  the  honor  of  placing  her  full  quota  of  organ- 
izations at  the  post  of  danger  in  the  shortest  time ;  and  since 
the  Massachusetts1  quota  was  far  larger  than  that  of  New 
Jersey,  her  record  was  the  more  creditable.  On  the  ninth  day 
after  the  troops  were  summoned  to  arms,  they  started  for 


148  The  Old  First 


Texas.  Of  course  the  Coast  Artillery  could  not  be  included  in 
this  great  national  mobilization,  as  they  might  not  safely  be 
spared  from  their  stations  at  the  forts.  But  on  June  26,  the 
day  the  mobile  troops  started  south,  the  officers  and  non- 
commissioned officers  of  the  Corps  were  assembled  at  the 
Framingham  mobilization  camp  ("Camp  Whitney")  for 
the  purpose  of  drilling  the  hundreds  of  recruits  there  gath- 
ered. The  officers  and  non-commissioned  officers  of  the  6th 
Inf.  also  took  part  in  this  work  of  instruction.  No  recruits 
for  Mass,  regiments  ever  constituted  a  finer  personnel  than 
those  eager  to  have  a  share  in  the  Mexican  service.  Coming 
from  all  over  the  state,  they  were  uniformly  willing,  sober, 
and  quick  to  learn,  in  order  that  they  might  reach  the  front 
as  soon  as  possible.  The  Corps  became  responsible  for  the 
"2d  Provisional  Regiment,"  consisting  of  about  one  thou- 
sand men,  destined  for  the  8th  and  gih  Inf.  Regiments,  and 
also  for  the  cavalry,  machine-guns,  supply  companies,  field 
artillery,  and  even  for  the  regimental  bands.  Wonderfully 
rapid  progress  was  made,  so  that  in  two  weeks,  the  recruits 
were  equipped,  and  drilled,  and  ready  to  go  forward.  The 
Corps'  recent  training  in  company  administration  stood  them 
in  good  stead  and  made  possible  such  rapid  work.  Certain 
officers  of  the  Corps  were  drafted  into  the  U.  S.  service,  in 
order  to  accompany  the  recruits  on  the  southward  journey. 
With  grave  disorder  on  the  Mexican  border,  and  with  the 
greatest  war  of  the  world's  history  approaching  its  crisis 
abroad,  conditions  were  once  more  favorable  for  Congres- 
sional action  in  behalf  of  the  militia.  Since  threatenings  of 
danger  were  loud  and  insistent,  the  legislators  were  induced 
to  take  an  additional  forward  step  in  rendering  America's 
citizen-soldiers  efficient.  The  National  Defence  Act,  as  the 
new  law  was  termed,  completed  the  process  of  f  ederalization 
by  placing  the  militia  fully  under  War  Department  control, 


Since  1878  149 


and  also  provided  a  modest  rate  of  remuneration  for  armory 
drills,  thus  making  it  an  object  for  men  to  maintain  regular 
attendance.  Massachusetts  had  done  what  she  could  to 
encourage  the  passage  of  the  law,  by  herself  adopting,  dur- 
ing the  prolonged  debate  on  the  National  Defence  Act,  a 
State  law  offering  to  hand  over  her  militia  to  the  Federal 
government.  Indeed  by  her  provision  for  remunerating 
men  for  attendance  at  rendezvous  drills,  the  Commonwealth 
had  taken  her  place  beside  Ohio  five  years  previously  as  a 
pioneer  in  paying  her  militia.  The  legislation  became  ef- 
fective on  June  3,  1916,  and  went  fully  into  operation  on  the 
first  of  the  ensuing  month. 

Right  in  the  midst  of  their  tour,  on  June  30,  the  officers 
and  men  were  asked  to  take  the  new  Federal  oath,  under 
provisions  of  this  act.  To  the  officers  the  oath  was  admin- 
istered at  Framingham,  while  the  enlisted  men  were  assem- 
bled in  their  armories  that  night,  for  the  purpose  of  swearing 
in.  Almost  without  exception,  and  then  always  with  valid 
excuse,  the  members  of  the  Corps  assumed  this  additional 
obligation  and  became  Federal  soldiers.  Headquarters, 
band,  enlisted  specialists,  and  twelve  companies — the  entire 
Corps — were,  on  June  30,  recognized  by  the  War  Depart- 
ment as  federalized  National  Guardsmen  and  were  entered 
upon  the  U.  S.  payrolls.  Of  all  the  Massachusetts  Volunteer 
Militia,  the  Coast  Artillery  Corps  were  the  only  organization 
to  comply  fully  with  the  new  requirements  and  be  recog- 
nized as  a  unit. 

Companies  of  the  Corps  volunteered  their  services  in  con- 
nection with  exhibitions  for  the  benefit  of  the  Mass.  Volun- 
teer Aid  Association,  which  was  raising  funds  to  relieve 
distress  amongst  the  families  of  National  Guardsmen  then 
at  the  border.  An  unusually  fine  military  display  was 
given  at  the  ball-grounds  in  connection  with  a  benefit  ball- 


150  The  Old  First 


game  between  the  Red  Sox  and  the  St.  Louis  teams  on 
July  17. 

Many  Corps  officers  were  detailed  for  recruiting  duty 
during  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1916,  in  an  effort  to 
raise  the  numbers  of  the  regiments  at  the  border  to  full 
war-strength.  Consequently  the  coast  defence  exercises  at 
the  forts  in  August,  1916,  were  seriously  handicapped. 
Many  men  were  forced  to  perform  double  duty.  In  spite 
of  this  limitation,  splendid  artillery  scores  were  made  by 
the  2d,  the  6th  and  other  Companies,  the  6th  Company  earn- 
ing the  coveted  Knox  trophy. 

Successive  steps  followed  rapidly  during  the  summer  and 
autumn  of  1916  to  render  effective  the  process  of  federaliza- 
tion.  By  order  of  Gov.  Samuel  W.  McCall  on  July  17,  the 
title  "Massachusetts  Volunteer  Militia"  was  discontinued, 
and  the  force  redesignated  "National  Guard,  Massachu- 
setts." In  October  the  War  Department  authorized  the 
companies  to  increase  their  strength  from  seventy-eight  to 
one  hundred  twelve  officers  and  men;  new  regulations  es- 
tablished standards  of  drill  and  instruction  with  which  or- 
ganizations must  comply  in  order  to  qualify  for  pay;  a  Na- 
tional Guard  reserve  was  created  by  transfer  of  men  who 
had  completed  their  three  years  of  active  service ;  promotion 
requirements  were  established  for  officers ;  and  an  assistant 
Inspector-instructor  was  detailed  to  the  Corps,  Capt.  Hugh 
S.  Brown  taking  his  place  beside  Capt.  Wilson.  While  the 
new  National  Guard  regulations  raised  the  standard  and 
"tightened  the  reins,"  it  is  a  tribute  to  the  high  grade  of 
efficiency  already  attained  by  the  Corps  that  Federal  control 
caused  no  revolutionary  changes  of  method  in  the  organiza- 
tion. As  part  of  the  federalizing  process,  on  Dec.  9,  1916, 
the  Militia  Bureau  of  the  War  Department  redesignated  the 
command,  and  abolished  the  word  Corps  from  its  title. 


Since  1878  151 


Thereafter  it  was  the  "Massachusetts  Coast  Artillery,  Na- 
tional Guard."  On  January  16,  1917,  the  organization  re- 
ceived back  its  old  and  well-loved  designation,  and  became 
the  ist  Coast  Defense  Command,  Massachusetts  Coast  Ar- 
tillery, N.  G. ;  once  more  Massachusetts  could  speak  about 
her  senior  regiment  as  "The  Old  First." 

George  F.  Quinby,  a  former  Lieutenant  of  the  7th  Com- 
pany and  Captain  of  the  2d  Company,  and  Major  during 
the  Spanish  War,  became  Colonel,  January  20,  1917.  The 
events  of  Col.  Quinby's  administration, — our  break  with 
Germany  on  February  3,  the  "armed  neutrality,"  the  5th 
Company's  good  fortune  in  being  first  of  all  the  command 
to  engage  in  active  service  when,  for  twenty-four  hours 
they  guarded  the  electric  power- system  of  Chelsea  against 
hostile  interference,  the  declaration  of  war  on  Good  Friday, 
April  6,  and  the  Old  First's  service  in  the  war,  the  revival 
and  establishment  of  compulsory  universal  military  service 
— must  form  the  subject-matter  of  another  chapter  to  be 
written  at  some  later  day. 


CHAPTER   X 
FINALLY 

If  it  is  a  long  time  from  1784  to  1917,  it  is  also  a  long 
way  from  the  independent  companies  of  artillery  and  light 
infantry  of  the  earlier  time  to  the  present  Coast  Artillery; 
the  militia  of  one  hundred  thirty  years  ago  could  not  recog- 
nize itself  in  the  National  Guard  of  today.  When  in  1792 
Congress  passed  the  first  militia  law,  it  commenced  a  process 
of  federalization  which  was  to  progress  by  successive  stages 
until  its  completion  in  the  National  Defence  Act  of  1916; 
with  federalization  came  efficiency. 

In  the  beginning,  volunteer  companies  which  owned  uni- 
forms separated  themselves  from  the  train-band  of  their 
day,  and  assumed  duties  and  responsibilities  outside  of  what 
the  State  demanded  from  every  citizen.  The  train-band 
drilled  not  more  than  four  times  a  year,  and  mainly  on  the 
fourth  Wednesday  of  May — the  volunteers  at  least  thrice 
or  fourfold  that  amount.  In  order  the  more  easily  to  dis- 
tinguish themselves  from  the  train-band,  the  volunteers  be- 
came artillery  or  light  infantry  or  grenadiers  or  rifles  or 
cavalry;  and  each  class  sought  proficiency  in  some  special 
kind  of  drill. 

Boston's  companies  of  artillery  were  associated  in  a 
small  battalion  several  years  before  the  light  infantry  com- 
panies were  willing  to  relinquish  their  independence;  and 
so  our  regimental  history  begins  in  the  artillery  branch. 
Presently,  in  the  days  of  the  "legionary  brigade,"  regimental 
spirit  began  to  manifest  itself  among  the  light  infantry  com- 
panies, resulting  in  the  Sub-legion  of  light  infantry.  The 


Finally 153 

artillery  battalion  became  most  famous  as  the  "Fighting 
First"  of  Civil  War  times,  and  is  today  primarily  repre- 
sented by  the  1st  Company.  From  the  light  infantry  Sub- 
legion  there  ultimately  developed  the  old  "Tiger"  1st  Regi- 
ment, of  which  the  2d  Company  is  today  the  senior  repre- 
sentative. Presently  a  drift  set  in  from  the  infantry  com- 
mand to  the  artillery  regiment,  one  company  transferring 
after  another,  until  even  the  regimental  number  itself  passed 
from  the  former  to  the  latter;  this  process  is  illustrated 
by  the  career  of  the  3d  Company.  Eventually  Plymouth 
and  Bristol  counties  made  their  valuable  contribution  to  the 
regimental  composition — the  remnants  of  the  3d  and  4th 
Regiments — as  represented  today  by  the  4th  Company.  The 
consolidation  of  1878  welded  all  these  elements  into  a  single, 
compact,  unified  body,  the  Coast  Artillery  of  today.  While 
the  old  regiment  have  come  under  complete  Federal  control, 
and  hold  place  in  the  first  line  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  they  have 
not  in  the  least  abated  their  life-long  loyalty  to  the  State 
which  gave  them  birth. 

"The  National  Guard  is  not  only  the  reserve  for  the 
regular  army;  it  is  also  the  reserve  for  the  police,  the  fire 
department,  and  life-saving  service.  Its  members  are  gen- 
uine soldiers  of  peace."  (Curtis  Guild.)  Twelve  different 
times  have  units  of  the  regiment  been  called  out  by  the 
Commonwealth  to  maintain  public  order.  On  many  other 
occasions  the  companies  were  warned  to  be  in  readiness; 
indeed  the  headquarters  of  the  command  is  the  most  sensi- 
tive barometer  for  registering  the  approach  of  social  dis- 
order. Twelve  times  the  companies  actually  marched  forth. 
Curtis  Guild's  remark  about  the  militia  was  intended  to 
apply  especially  to  military  service  in  connection  with  great 
and  disastrous  conflagrations;  five  times  have  the  regiment 
performed  such  duty. 


154  The  Old  First 


But  after  all,  it  is  war-time  which  tests  the  soldier.  If  he 
fails  to  respond  in  his  country's  hour  of  need,  his  other  vir- 
tues are  of  small  value.  Measured  by  this  test,  regimental 
patriotism  has  shown  itself  to  be  trustworthy.  In  the  days 
just  prior  to  the  attack  upon  Fort  Sumpter,  there  were  in 
existence  seventeen  companies  which  were  destined  some- 
time to  become  associated  in  the  present  Coast  Artillery.  In 
the  seventeen  companies  were  twelve  hundred  members. 
By  some  process  of  magic,  of  patriotic  magic,  when  the 
alarm  of  war  sounded,  the  twelve  hundred  militiamen  mul- 
tiplied themselves  into  no  less  than  seven  thousand  five 
hundred  volunteers.  The  "Old  First"  never  failed  in  sea- 
sons of  public  need;  they  were  always  a  fighting  regiment. 

"Vigilantia,"  the  regimental  motto,  is  another  name  for 
watchfulness,  for  preparedness.  As  if  the  choice  of  a  motto 
were  prophetic,  or  at  least  significant  of  the  regimental  char- 
acter, the  Coast  Artillery  have  always  managed  to  be  so  fully 
prepared  that  they  were  able  to  get  into  active  service 
amongst  the  very  leaders.  No  troops  were  more  prompt  in 
reaching  the  post  of  danger  than  the  "minute  men  of  '61"; 
and  amongst  them  were  our  companies  in  the  3d  and  4th 
and  5th  and  6th  Regiments.  A  few  weeks  later  the  ist 
Mass,  was  the  the  first  long-term  regiment  to  be  mustered 
in  thruout  the  entire  United  States,  the  first  not  only  in  the 
Civil  War,  but  in  any  war.  Again  in  1898,  when  National 
Guard  regiments  everywhere  were  actively  competing  for 
priority  in  volunteering,  the  "ist  Heavies"  managed  to  reach 
their  station  at  Fort  Warren,  and  then  to  be  mustered  in  as 
a  regiment,  before  any  of  their  rivals  in  Massachusetts  or 
elsewhere.  Three  times,  at  least,  was  "Vigilantia"  trans- 
lated into  action. 

Veterans  of  the  old  regiment  have  organized  themselves 
to  perpetuate  cherished  traditions  of  the  past.  Each  of  the 


MODERN  BATTERY 


THE  CHAPLAIN   IN   ACTION 


Finally  155 


Civil  War  commands  is  represented  by  a  veteran  associa- 
tion—the ist,  the  "Minute  Men,"  the  I3th,  the  24th,  the  42d 
in  eastern  and  western  sections,  the  43d  and  others.  As  old 
age  comes  on  with  passing  time,  it  is  inevitable  that  associa- 
tions of  war  veterans  must  become  less  numerous  and  less 
active  each  year.  The  Coast  Artillery  take  a  real  interest 
in  the  Hooker  Association  and  the  Stevenson  Memorial 
Association.  Amongst  the  companies,  live  veteran  organ- 
izations are  maintained  by  graduates  of  the  Roxbury  City 
Guard,  the  Boston  Light  Infantry  (the  Tiger  Veteran 
Association,  incorporated  March  28,  1882),  the  Fusiliers, 
and  the  Pierce  Lt.  Guard.  Indeed  the  Fusiliers  have  been 
a  prolific  source  of  veteran  associations.  The  first,  the 
Fusilier  Veteran  Association,  was  organized  by  leading 
members  of  the  company,  including  five  ex-Captains,  in 
April,  1878,  at  the  time  when  the  company  was  about  to 
pass  from  the  ist  to  the  5th  Reg.,  and  is  today  in  full  vigor 
and  prosperity,  retaining  the  old  red-coat  uniform.  When 
this  association  had  opened  its  membership  to  others  than 
actual  veterans,  on  Aug.  2,  1900,  certain  graduates  formed 
a  new  organization  of  3d  Company  veterans,  the  Independ- 
ent Boston  Fusilier  Veterans.  Their  numbers  were  small, 
and  on  July  2,  1906,  in  order  to  provide  a  supply  of  new 
material,  they  invited  veterans  of  other  ist  Reg.  companies 
to  join,  and  thus  became  transformed  into  the  "ist  Reg. 
M.  V.  M.  Veterans."  The  latter  body  now  has  one  hundred 
forty  members.  Joe  Hooker  Post,  No.  23,  G.  A.  R.,  of 
Boston,  and  Theodore  Winthrop  Post,  No.  35,  of  Chelsea, 
were  made  up  largely  of  ist  Regiment  veterans;  and  were 
always  in  friendly  and  helpful  relations  with  the  active  com- 
mand. With  our  wealth  of  noble  heritage  from  the  past, 
comprising  as  we  do  all  that  remains  of  the  old  "Legionary 
Brigade"  and  its  successor,  the  3d  Brigade  of  the  ist  Divi- 


156  The  Old  First 


sion,  once  Boston's  pride,  and  including  all  the  3d  and  4th 
Regiment  organizations  having  continuous  history,  it  is 
desirable  that  the  Coast  Artillery  should  have  an  active  asso- 
ciation of  veterans  which  may  combine  the  forces  now  scat- 
tered amongst  the  company  associations;  the  provision  in 
the  National  Defence  act  for  a  "reserve  battalion"  seems  to 
open  a  door  of  possibility. 

Such  a  history  as  this  can  have  no  conclusion,  it  can  only 
halt  for  the  moment;  while  the  pages  were  in  press,  the 
regiment  was  summoned  by  the  Nation  to  perform  mili- 
tary duty.  The  fruit  of  a  noble  past  is  a  useful  present. 
The  soul  of  the  "Old  Regiment,"  like  John  Brown's  of 
which  they  taught  America  to  sing,  is  "marching  on." 

"Whatever  grand  deeds  others  do, 
The  'Old  First'  still  shall  lead." 


APPENDIX    I 

GENEALOGY  OF  THE  COAST  ARTILLERY 
The  present  companies  and  their  predecessors 

THE  THREE- YEAR  CIVIL  WAR  FIRST  REGIMENT 

1789,  Ball,  of  Art.,  ist  Div.  Suffolk.  1794,  Art.  Batl.,  ist 
Bri.,  ist  Div.  (a)  Aug.  22,  1797,  Sub-legion  of  Art.  and  (b) 
three  companies  became  Batl.  of  Art.,  ist  Bri.,  ist  Div.  (a) 
Mch.  12,  1810,  Sub-legion  became  Batl.  Art.,  $d  Bri.,  ist 
Div.  June  26,  '34,  Reg.  Art.,  3d  Bri.,  ist  Div.  '36  Batl.  Art., 
3d  Bri.,  ist  Div.  Apr.  24,  '40,  ist  Batl.  Art,  ist  Bri.,  ist  Div. 
(b)  1831  companies  of  Batl.  Art.,  ist  Bri.,  ist  Div.,  attached 
to  ist  Reg.  Inf.,  ist  Bri.,  ist  Div.  June  26,  1834,  again  Batl. 
Art.,  ist  Bri.,  ist  Div.  Apr.  24,  '40,  2d  Batl.  Art.,  ist  Bri., 
ist.  Div.  June  4,  '44,  Batls.  united  in  5th  Reg.  Art.,  ist  Bri., 
ist  Div.  Feb.  26,  '55,  2d  Reg.  Inf.  Jan.  24,  '61,  ist  Reg. 
Inf.  1862,  42d  Reg.  Inf.  May  18,  '66,  ist  Reg.  Inf.,  ist 
Bri.  July  6'  '76,  ist  Batl.  Inf.,  2d  Bri.  Dec.  3,  '78,  ist  Reg. 
Inf.,  ist  Bri.  Jan.  I,  '97,  ist  Reg.  Heavy  Art.  Nov.  I, 
1905,  Corps  of  Coast  Art.  Nov.  15,  '07,  Coast  Art.  Corps. 
July  17,  '16,  "M.  V.  M."  changed  to  "N.  G.,  Mass."  Jan. 
16,  '17,  ist  Coast  Defense  Command,  Mass.  Coast  Artillery, 
National  Guard. 

ist  (D)— Roxbury  Art.  organized  Mch.  22,  1784,  re- 
designated  City  Gd.  Nov.  24,  '57.  3  cos.  in  Civil  War.  Re- 
designated  ist  Company,  1905. 

2d  (K) — (i)  Washington  Lt.  Gds.  or  Inf.  transferred 
from  G  ist  Inf.  '59,  disbanded  '59.  (2)  Chadwick  Lt.  Inf. 
organized  '61,  disbanded  '64.  (3) Ware  Oct.,  '62,  disbanded 


158  The  Old  First 


Nov.  11,  '64.  (4)  8ist  Unat.  Co.  '66,  disbanded  '76.  (5) 
Boston  Light  Infantry  transferred  from  A  4th  Batl.  Inf. 
'78,  redesignated  2d  Company,  1905. 

3d  (G)— (i)  Bay  State  Art.,  Cambridge,  1853,  dis.  1854. 
(2)  '55,  dis.  '57.  (3)  Fusiliers  from  F  ist  Inf.  Mch.  i,  '59; 
7th  Unat.  Co. ;  Apr.  13,  '64,  25th  Unat.  Co.  5  cos.  in  Civil 
War.  To  D  5th  Inf.  Dec.  3,  '78.  (4)  Taunton  Lt.  Gds.  from 
C  3d  Inf.  '78,  dis.  '84.  (5)  Natick  '84,  to  L  9th  Inf.  '88. 

(6)  Fusiliers  from  D  5th  Inf.  Mch.  26,  '88,  to  3d  Company, 

1905. 

4th  (E)— (i)  Dorchester  Art.  1786,  dis.  1844.  (2)  Cow- 
din  Art.  1851.  (3)  '54  American  Art.  (4)  '56  Lafayette 
Gd.  (5)  Pulaski  Gds.  from  I  1859,  dis-  1864.  (6)  dis. 
Nov.  7,  '62.  (7)  Oct.  '62,  dis.  Nov.  11,  '64.  (8)  ist  Unat. 
Co.  1864,  to  E  '66,  dis.  '76.  (9)  New  Bedford  City  Gds. 
from  E  3d  Inf.  Dec.  3,  '78,  to  4th  Company,  1905. 

5th  (H)— (i)  Shields  Art.,  Dorchester  1853,  dis.  1855. 
(2)  Mechanic  Rifles  from  H  ist  Inf.,  dis.  '59.  (3)  Ward- 
well's  Tigers  '61,  to  F  5th  Inf.  '61,  dis.  '61.  (4)  Chelsea 
Volunteers  '61,  Apr.  19,  dis.  '64.  (5)  Oct.,  '62,  dis.  Aug., 
'63-  (6)  July  20,  '64,  dis.  Nov.  11,  '64.  (7)  Chelsea  Rifles, 
4th  Unat.  Co.,  '63,  to  H  May  18,  '66,  to  L  8th  Inf.  Dec.  3, 
'78,  to  H  8th  Inf.  Dec.  21,  '78.  (8)  Standish  Gds.,  Plymouth 
from  H  3d  Inf.,  '78,  dis.  '83;  (reorganized  as  D  5th  Inf. 
'88).  (9)  Chelsea  Rifles  from  H  8th  Inf.  June  11,  '83,  to 
5th  Company,  1905. 

6th  (B) — (i)  Columbian  Art.  June  17,  1798,  dis.  1855. 
(2)  Union  Gds.,  E.  Boston,  transferred  from  H  ist  Inf.  &  B 
3d  Batl.  Inf.  1855,  dis.  1864.  (3)  dis.  Nov.  7,  '62.  (4) 
Medway  Oct.  '62,  dis.  Nov.  n,  '64.  (5)  9th  Unat.  '64  to 
B  '66,  dis.  Feb.  7,  '72.  (6)  from  C  Sept.  20,  '72,  dis.  '76. 

(7)  Massachusetts  Guards  from  B  4th  Batl.  Inf.  '78,  to  6th 
Company,  1905. 


Genealogy  159 


7th  (C) — (i)  Washington  Art.  May  29,  '10,  Lt.  Gds. 
1855,  to  K  6th  Inf.  1861,  dis.  '61.  (2)  to  K  4th  &  29th  Inf., 
dis.  '64.  (3)  North  End  True  Blues  from  L  '61,  dis.  '64. 
(4)  dis.  Nov.  7,  '62.  (5)  Oct.  '62,  dis.  Nov.  n,  '64.  (6) 
45th  Unat.  E.  Boston,  '66,  to  B  '72.  (7)  Claflin  Gds.  from 
L  Feb.  20,  '72,  to  C  5th  Inf.  '78.  (8)  Pierce  Lt.  Guard 
from  C  4th  Batl.  Inf.  '78,  to  7th  Company,  1905. 

8th  (A) — (i)  Boston  Art.  May  7,  1785,  1856  Boston 
Phalanx,  Dec.  15,  1860,  transferred  to  A  4th  Batl.  Rifles, 
and  then  A,  I3th  Inf.  '61,  disbanded  '64.  (2)  Brookline  '61, 
dis.  '64.  (3)  dis.  Nov.  7,  '62.  (4)  Weymouth  Oct.,  '62, 
dis.  Aug.,  '63.  (5)  July  20,  '64,  dis.  Nov.  n,  '64.  (6)  W. 
Roxbury  Rifles,  Jamaica  Plain,  66th  Unat.  Co.  June  21,  '65, 
to  A  May  18,  '66,  to  8th  Company,  1905. 

9th  (F)— (i)  dis.  1843.  (2)  Webster  Art.  1852,  dis. 
I^55.  (3)  National  Gds.  from  L  ist  Inf.  1855,  dis.  1864. 
(4)  dis.  1862,  Nov.  7.  (5)  Leicester  Oct.,  '62,  dis.  Nov.  n, 
'64.  (6)  67th  Unat.  Co.  '66,  dis.  '76.  (7)  Taunton  City 
Guard  from  F  of  3d  Inf.  '78,  to  9th  Company,  1905. 

loth  (I)— (i)  Pulaski  Gds.  from  C  ist  Inf.  '59;  to  E 
'59.  (2)  Schouler  Gds.  '61,  dis.  '64.  (3)  Oct.  '62  Dor- 
chester, dis.  '76.  (4)  Cunningham  Rifles  from  I  3d  Inf., 
'76,  to  loth  Company,  1905. 

nth  (L)— (i)  North  End  True  Blues,  a  fire  eng.  co. 
prior  to  1832,  to  L  '61,  dis.  '64.  (2)  Claflin  Gds.,  Newton, 
'70,  to  C  Feb.  20,  '72.  (3)  Maverick  Rifles  from  D  4th  Batl. 
Inf.  '78,  to  nth  Company,  1905. 

I2th  (M)— Fa//  River  Rifles  Dec.  17,  1878,  to  I2th  Com- 
pany, 1905. 

THE  "TIGER"  FIRST  REGIMENT 

Aug.  22,  1797,  Sub-legion  Lt.  Inf.  Legionary  Brigade,  ist 
Div.  Mch.  12,  1810,  cos.  distributed  amongst  ist,  2d  and  3d 


160  The  Old  First 


Regs.  Inf.,  3d  Bri.,  ist  Div.  Aug.,  '34,  Lt.  Inf.  Reg.,  3d  Bri., 
ist  Div.  Feb.  23,  '38,  Lt.  Inf.  Batl.  id.  June  i,  '39,  Reg. 
restored.  Apr.  24,  '40,  Reg.  numbered  ist  Lt.  Inf.,  ist  Bri., 
ist  Div.,  M.  V.  M.  Apr.  25,  '42,  cos.  lettered.  Feb.  26,  '55, 
Lt.  Inf.  changed  to  Inf.  Mch.  i,  '59,  2d  Batl.  Inf.,  ist  Bri., 
ist  Div.  Oct.  13,  '62,  43d  Inf.  Mass.  Vols.  Nov.  i,  '62, 
Bos.  Lt.  Inf.  Assn.  to  perpetuate  co.  July,  '63,  43d  dis. 
Aug.,  '64,  7th  Inf.,  ist  Bri.,  ist  Div.  July  20,  '70,  ist  Batl. 
Inf.,  ist  Bri.,  ist  Div.,  M.  V.  M.  Mch.  25,  '74,  Batl.  re- 
numbered 4th.  Dec.  3,  '78,  consolidated  in  ist  Inf.,  ist  Bri., 
M.  V.  M. 

A — Boston  Lt.  Inf.  (Formed  May,  1798)  Sept.  4,  1798, 
i8io-'34,  in  2d  Inf.,  3d  Bri.  To  K  ist  Inf.,  Dec.  3,  1878. 
July,  '63— Aug.,  '64,  the  24th  Unat.  Co. 

B— (i)  New  England  Gds.  1812,  i8i2-'34  in  2d  Inf.,  3d 
Bri.  To  A  &  B  4th  Batl.  Inf.,  Mch.  1 1,  '61,  then  24th  &  44th 
Regs.  Inf.,  dis.  '65.  (2)  Mch.  i,  '61,  dis.  July,  '63.  (3) 
Handy  Guard,  renamed  Washington  Light  Guard  in  1869, 
and  in  1873  Massachusetts  Guards,  32d  Unat.  Co.,  Oct.  26, 
'64,  to  B,  Aug.  10,  '65,  to  B  ist  Inf.  Dec.  3,  '78. 

C — (i)  Winslow  Blues  Oct.,  1799,  1810*34  in  3d  Inf.,  3d 
Bri.,  dis.  Feb.  23,  1838.  (2)  Pulaski  Gds.,  S.  Boston,  Sept. 
13,  '35,  3d  Reg.  Inf.,  3d  Bri.  To  C  May  7,  '38.  Called 
Mechanic  Greys,  '49.  Mch.  i,  '59,  to  I  2d  Inf.  (3)  Mch. 
II,  '61,  dis.  July,  '63.  (4)  Milton,  '64,  dis.  '70.  (5)  Pierce 
Lt.  Gd.  from  E,  July  26,  '70,  to  E  '72.  (6)  Hyde  Park,  '72, 
dis.  '73.  (7)  Pierce  Lt.  Gd.  from  E,  Mch.  25,  '74,  to  C  ist 
Inf.,  Dec.  3,  '78. 

D — (i)  Washington  Lt.  Inf.,  1803.  i8io-'34  in  ist  Inf., 
3d  Bri.,  dis.  Feb.  23,  '38.  (2)  Highland  Gds.,  Jan.  8,  '38,  dis. 
Jan.  2,  '44.  (3)  Mechanic  Rifles  Dec.  5,  '43,  3d  Batl.  Lt.  Inf. 
Mch.  4,  '44,  B  ist  Batl.  Rifles.  To  D  Sept.  n,  '45.  '47  to 
"Rifles  Annexed."  (4)  Boston  Lt.  Gd.,  '47,  dis.  '57.  (5) 


Genealogy  161 


Washington  Lt.  Gd.  or  Inf.  from  G  '57,  to  K  2d  Inf.  Mch. 
i,  '59.  (6)  Dedham  Oct.  '62,  dis.  July,  '63.  (7)  '64,  dis. 
'70.  (8)  from  I  '70,  dis.  '72.  (9)  Maverick  Rifles,  also 
called  Boston  City  Gd.,  Chelsea  &  E.  Boston,  July  19,  '72,  to 
L  ist  Inf.,  Dec.  3,  '78. 

E— (i)  Boston  City  Gd.  Sept.  21,  1821.  1821-^34  in  3d 
Inf.,  3d  Bri.  Dis.  Feb.  23,  '38.  Reorgan.  as  Columbian  Greys 
Aug.  12,  '40,  dis.  Dec.  26,  '59.  (2)  Orleans  Oct.,  '62,  dis. 
July,  '63.  (3)  Pierce  Lt.  Gd.  5ist  Unat.  Co.  Mch.  25,  '65, 
also  called  Fusilier  Lt.  Gd.  To  E.  Aug.  10,  '65.  To  C  July 
26,  '70.  From  C  '72.  To  C  Mch.  25,  '74. 

F — Fusiliers  May  n,  1787.  i8io-'34  in  ist  Inf.,  3d  Bri. 
Dis.  Feb.  23,  1838,  reorgan.  as  Hancock  Lt.  Inf.,  May  17, 
'39,  again  Fusiliers.  To  G  2d  Inf.  Mch.  i,  '59.  (2)  Oct., 
'62,  dis.  July,  '63.  (3)  S.  Boston,  '64,  dis.  '70. 

G — (i)  Mechanic  Rifles  until  '34  in  ist.  Inf.,  3d  Bri.,  dis. 
Feb.  23, '38.  (2)  Suffolk  Lt  Gds.  May  II, '39,  (3)  Wash- 
ington Lt.  Gd.  or  Inf.  (name  changed  '54)  '46,  to  D  '57. 
(4)  Abington  Oct.,  '62,  dis.  July,  '63.  (5)  Charlestown, 
'64,  dis.  '68. 

H— (i)  Lafayette  Gds.,  dis.  Feb.  23,  '38.  (2)  Washing- 
ton Phalanx.  (3)  Mt.  Washington  Gds.,  Apr.  14,  '41,  dis. 
June  30,  '49.  (4)  Winthrop  Gds.  '51,  dis.  Nov.  3,  '52.  (5) 
Union  Gds.  E.  Boston,  Aug.  21,  '52,  to  B  3d  Batl.  Inf.,  '53 
&  to  B  2d  Inf.,  '55.  (6)  Mechanic  Rifles  (or  Inf.)  May 
24,  '53,  from  "Rifles  Annexed,"  '59  to  H  2d  Inf.  (7)  Chel- 
sea Rifles  Oct.,  '62,  dis.  July,  '63.  (8)  '64  dis.  '68. 

I — (i)  Rifle  Rangers  1820,  1820*34  in  3d  Inf.,  3d  Bri. 
Mch.  4,  '44  to  A  ist  Batl.  Rifles.  Sept.  n,  '45  to  — ,  dis. 
May  15,  '52.  (2)  Norfolk  Gd.,  1850.  (3)  Sarsfield  Gds.  to 
C  3d  Batl.  Inf.,  '53,  dis.  '55.  (4)  Cambridge  Oct.,  '62,  dis. 
July,  '63.  (5)  '64,  to  D  '70. 


162  The  Old  First 


K— (i)  Montgomery  Gds.  '37,  dis.  Apr.  6,  '38.  (2) 
Rifles  Sept.  6,  '42.  (3)  Washington  Lt.  Inf.,  dis.  '51.  (4) 
Oct.  '62,  dis.  July,  '63.  (5)  '64,  dis.  '70. 

L— (i)  Warren  Inf.,  to  M  '50.  (2)  Mass.  Vols.  '50,  '51. 
(3)  National  Gds.  '49,  to  A  3d  Batl.  Inf.  '53,  to  F  2d  Inf. 

'55- 

M — Warren  Inf.  from  L  '50,  dis.  '52. 

Mechanic  Rifles  "Annexed" — from  D  '47,  to  H  May  24, 

'S3- 

National  Lancers  were  attached  from  '39  to  '52.  From 
'45  to  '49  they  were  the  only  cavalry  in  Mass.  To  Tr.  A  ist 
Squad.  Cav. 

THE  THIRD  REGIMENT 

Sept.,  1834,  Reg.  Lt.  Inf.,  ist  Bri.,  5th  Div.  Apr.  24,  '40, 
3d  Reg.  Lt.  Inf.,  2d  Bri.,  ist  Div.  Apr.  25,  '42,  cos.  lettered. 
Feb.  26,  '55,  3d  Reg.  Inf.  Aug.  20,  '66,  new  3d  Reg.  Inf., 
ist  Bri.,  ist  Div.  '76,  3d  Batl.  Inf.  Dec.  3,  '78,  ist  Inf. 

A — Halifax  Lt.  Inf.,  1792,  from  ist  Inf.,  ist  Bri.,  5th  Div.y 
dis.  '76. 

B — (i)  Standish  Gds.  Plymouth,  Oct.  21,  '18,  from  ist 
Inf.  To  87th  Unat.  Co.,  June  26,  '63,  to  M  '68.  (2)  S.  Car- 
ver dis.  '66.  (3)  from  K  '66,  dis.  76. 

C— (i)  Marshfield  Rifles  from  2d  Inf.,  ist  Bri.,  5th  Div. 
(2)  Hanson  Rifles  '42,  dis.  '47.  (3)  Rochester  dis.  '55.  (4) 
Cambridge,  Jan.,  '61,  dis.  July  22,  '61.  The  first  company 
raised  in  Mass,  for  the  war.  (5)  Fall  River  '62,  dis.  '63. 
(6)  Scituate,  dis.  '70.  (7)  S.  Abington,  dis.  '76. 

D — (i)  Abington  Lt.  Inf.,  from  3d  Inf.,  ist  Bri.,  5th  Div., 
dis.  '54.  (2)  Sandwich,  May,  '61.  Dec.  13,  '61,  to  D,  29th 
Mass.  Vols.  (3)  Fall  River  '62,  dis.  '76. 

E — (i)  Middleboro  Grenadiers,  from  4th  Inf.,  ist  Bri., 
5th  Div.,  dis.  '51.  (2)  Middleboro,  dis.  '53.  (3)  Fall  River, 


Genealogy  163 


dis.  '58.  (4)  Fall  River,  dis.  '60.  (5)  Plymouth,  May  6, 
'61.  Dec.  13,  '61,  to  E,  29th  Mass.  Vols.  (6)  New  Bed- 
ford City  Gds.  from  L  '62,  to  E  ist  Inf.,  Dec.  3,  '78. 

F — (r)  Scituate  Rifles  from  2d  Inf.,  ist  Bri.,  5th  Div. 
(2)  Wareham  Grenadiers  '42.  (3)  Middleboro,  dis.  '58. 
(4)  New  Bedford  '62,  dis.  '63.  (5)  Taunton  City  Gd,,  8oth 
Unat.  Co.,  Nov.  4,  '65.  To  F  Aug.  20,  '66.  To  F  ist  Inf., 
Dec.  3,  '78. 

G — (i)Abington  Rifles,  from  3d  Inf.,  ist  Bri.,  5th  Div., 
dis.  '47.  (2)  Assonet  (Freetown)  Lt.  Inf.  '50,  merged  in 
A  '62.  (3)  New  Bedford  '62,  dis.  '66.  (4)  Taunton  Lt. 
Gd.  '55  from  G  4th  Inf.,  to  G  '66,  to  G  ist  Inf.,  Dec.  3,  '78. 

H— (i)  Scituate  Lt.  Inf.  from  2d  Inf.,  ist  Bri.,  5th  Div. 
(2)  Samoset  Gds.,  Plympton,  '35,  merged  in  B  '62.  (3) 
Rehoboth  '62,  dis.  '66.  (4)  Hancock  Lt.  Gds.,  Quincy,  '55. 
From  H  4th  Inf.,  to  H  '66,  dis.  '73.  (5)  Standish  Gds.,  from 
M  '74,  to  H  ist  Inf.,  Dec.  3,  '78. 

I— (i)  Pembroke  Lt.  Inf.  from  2d  Inf.,  ist  Bri.,  5th  Div. 

(2)  Rochester  '46.     (3)  E.  Freetown  '52.     (4)  New  Bed- 
ford '56.     (5)  Lynn,  Apr.  19,  '61.    Dec.  13,  '61,  to  I,  29th 
Mass.  Vols.     (6)  Fairhaven  '62,  dis.  '66.  (7)  E.  Stoughton, 
dis.  '69.    (8)  Cunningham  Rifles,  N.  Bridgewater  or  Brock- 
ton, '69,  to  I  ist  Inf.  '76. 

K — (i)  Abington  Grenadiers,  from  3d  Inf.,  ist  Bri., 
5th  Div.  (2)  Weymouth,  from  C  3d  Batl.  Inf.,  to  L  '46. 

(3)  Bay  State  Lt.  Inf.,  Carver  '52,  merged  in  B  '62.     (4) 
Bridgewater  '62,  dis.  '64.     (5)  Fall  River,  to  B  '66.     (6) 
Abington,  dis.  '76. 

I^-(i)  W.  Bridgewater  Lt.  Inf.,  from  3d  Inf.,  ist  Bri., 
5th  Div.  (2)  Weymouth,  from  C  3d  Batl.  Inf.,  to  L  '46. 
(3)  New  Bedford  City  Gds.,  July  22,  '52,  to  E  '62.  (4)  S. 
Carver,  dis.  '76. 


i<H  The  Old  First 


M—  (i)  Boston,  May  14,  '61.  Dec.  13,  '61,  to  B,  2Qth 
Mass.  Vols.  (2)  Standish  Gds.  Plymouth,  from  8;th  Unat. 
Co.  '68,  to  H  '74. 

CAPTAINS  OF  FIRST  COMPANY 


John  Jones  Spooner,  Mch.  22, 
Jonathan  Warner,  1789 
Jesse  Daggett,  1798-1805 
Humphrey  Bignell,  i8o5-JO9 
Joseph  Seaver,  1809-'  12 
Isaac  Gale,  i8i2-'i4 
William  Cobb,  1814-^17 
Calvin  Warren,  i8i7~'i8 
Joseph  Hastings,  June  to  Aug.,  1818 
Samuel  Lawrence,  Sept.,  i8i8-'2i 
Joseph  May,  1821  -'24 
Lewis  Withington,  i  824^27 
Robert  Stetson,  1827^28 
Joseph  B.  Towle,  i828-'33 
John  Webber,  1  833-^34 
Andrew  Chase,  Jr.,  i834-'39,  '4°-'43 
Benjamin  H.  Burrell,  1  843-^45 
John  L.  Stanton,  1845-^46 
Samuel  S.  Chase,  1847-^48 
Benjamin  H.  Burrell,  1848,  died 
Moses  H.  Webber,  1850*53 
Isaac  S.  Burrell,  i853-'57 
Thomas  L.  D.  Perkins,  i857-'6i 
John  J.  Dyer,  1861 
George  W.  Beach,  1862 

Ebenzer  W.  Stone,  Jr.,  May  22,  1861—  May  25,  '64  (three 
year  reg.) 

George  Sherive,  i862-'63  (42d  Reg.,  9-mos.) 


Genealogy  165 


Samuel  A.  Waterman,  1864  (42d,  loo-days) 

Jediah  P.  Jordan,  i865~'68 

Charles  G.  Burgess,  i868-'69 

Isaac  P.  Gragg,  1869-  '73 

Charles  G.  Davis,  i873~'74 

William  A.  Smith, 

Benjamin  R.  Wales, 

James  R.  Austin,  I 877^78 

Albert  W.  Hersey,  1878^79 

Thomas  R.  Mathews,  i88o-'8i 

Horace  T.  Rockwell,  1881-^83 

Harry  C.  Gardner,  i883-'87 

Joseph  H.  Frothingham,  May  27,  1887-1911 

Marshall  S.  Holbrook,  Dec.  11,  1911— Mch.  3,  1917 

Joseph  H.  Hurney,  Mch.  19,  1917 

CAPTAINS  OF  SECOND  COMPANY 
Daniel  Sargent,  1798-1804 
Charles  Davis,  1 804-^07 
Henry  Sargent,  1807-' 1 5 
Gedney  King,  i8i5-'i8 
Henry  Codman,   i8i8-'2O 
William  Tucker,  1820*21 
Peter  Mackintosh,  1821 -'23 
John  T.  Winthrop,  1823 
Parker  H.  Pierce,  1824-^27 
Nathaniel  R.  Sturgis,  Jr.,  i827-'3<D 
Edward  Blake,  1 830*32 
Robert  C.  Winthrop,  i832-'34 
Ezra  Weston,  Jr.,  1834-^37 
Elbridge  G.  Austin,  i837~'4O 
William  Dehon,  1840*41 
Charles  Parker,  i84i-*43 
Samuel  Andrews,  i843-*44 


i66  The  Old  First 


John  C.  Park,  1844,  Mch.  20 — '46,  Nov.  20 
Lt.  Francis  Boyd,  1846-^49 

Ossian  D.  Ashley,  July  12,  i849~'53,  being  elected  Capt. 
June  4,  '51 

Charles  O.  Rogers,  i854-'59 

Ralph  W.  Newton,  i859-'6o,  '6o-'6i 

John  C.  Whiton,  i86i-'62 

Henry  J.  Hallgreen,  i862-'64 

Horace  O.  Whittemore,  i864-'65 

Caleb  E.  Neibuhr,  i865-'6; 

Charles  F.  Harrington,  i86>-'68 

Eben  W.  Fiske,  i868-'69 

David  W.  Wardrop,  i869-'7o 

Austin  C.  Wellington,  i87<>'73 

Nicholas  N.  Noyes,  i873-'77 

George  O.  Noyes,  i877-'78 

Henry  F.  Knowles,  i 878^79 

William  A.  Thomas,  i879~'82 

George  E.  Lovett,  i882-'86 

Henry  Parkinson,  Jr.,  i886-'89 

William  H.  Ames,  July  i,  i889~'9i 

George  F.  Quinby,  Aug.  10,  1891 — July,  '97 

Frederick  S.  Howes,  Oct.  25,  1897 

Conrad  M.  Gerlach,  June,  1908— Mch.  30,  '12 

Albert  L.  Kendall,  May  6,  1912 

CAPTAINS  OF  THIRD  COMPANY 

William  Turner,  May  25,  1788 
Joseph  Laughton,  July  3,  1790 
Thomas  Adams,  1792 
Joseph  Laughton,  1793 
John  Brazer,  Aug.  22,  1796 
Thomas  Howe,  Mch.  10,  1806 


Genealogy  167 


Gerry  Fairbanks,  1813  (in  war  with  England) 

Caleb  Hartshorn,  1816 

Sam  Aspinwall,  1819 

Joseph  N.  Howe,  Jr.,  1822 

Otis  Turner,  1826 

David  L.  Child,  1828 

Louis  Dennis,  1829 

Grenville  T.  Winthrop,  1834 

John  Y.  Champney,  1835 

Noah  Lincoln,  Jr.,  i 836^38 

Louis  Dennis,  May  17,  i839~'4i 

Noah  Lincoln,  Jr.,  1841,  Apr.  12 — Dec. 

John  F.  Pray, 

William  Mitchel, 

Henry  A.  Snow,  1 849-^50 

William  Mitchel,  i8si-'53 

Daniel  Cooley,  i853-'55 

Henry  A.  Snow,  1855 — Aug.  3,  1861 

Francis  H.  Ward,  Aug.  26,  1861— Oct.  2,  '62 

John  McDonough,  Mch.  i,  1863 — May  25,  '64  (Snow, 
Ward  and  McDonough  commanded  in  the  three-year  regi- 
ment) 

Alfred  N.  Proctor,  i862-'66  (42d  Reg.  9-mos.  service) 

Alanson  H.  Ward,  1864  (42d  Reg.  loo-days) 

Albert  E.  Proctor,  1864— June,  '65  (7th  Unat.  Co.  &  K 
4th  Heavies) 

Thomas  A.  Cranston,  i866-'68 

John  F.  Pray,  1869^70 

Henry  A.  Snow,  i87<>'73 

George  G.  Nichols,  1 873^75 

Henry  A.  Snow,  i875-'84 

George  T.  Sears,  1884-^86 

Robert  P.  Bell,  i886-'9o 


i68  The  Old  First 


Albert  B.  Chick,  Feb.  4,  1891— Nov.  28,  '06 
Frank  S.  Wilson,  1907 
Calvin  S.  Tilden,  1910 
Harry  J.  Kane,  Oct.  23,  1912 

CAPTAINS  OF  FOURTH  COMPANY 
George  A.  Bourne,  Aug.  31,  1 852^54 
Timothy  Ingraham,  i855~'6i 
Richard  A.  Pierce,  Apr.  4 — Aug.  20.  1862 
John  A.  Hawes,  1862-63 
James  L.  Sharp,  i863~'64 
Isaac  A.  Jennings,  i86"4-'65 
Henry  H.  Porter,  i865~'66 
Daniel  A.  Butler,  i866-'68 
William  E.  Mason,  1868-^69 
Daniel  A.  Butler,  i869-';6 
William  Sanders,  1876-^81 
John  K.  McAfee,  i88i-'83 
William  B.  Topham,  i883-'86 
William  Sanders,  i886-'89 
Richard  H.  Morgan,  1889-^91 
Arthur  E.  Perry,  Mch.  23,  1891 — June  2,  '96 
Thomas  S.  Hathaway,  June  n,  1897 — Dec.  22,  '97 
Joseph  L.  Gibbs,  Jan.  24,  1898 — May  31/06 
John  C.  DeWolf,  1906 
Ernest  L.  Snell,  1906-^08 
William  Stitt,  1908 — Nov.  4,  1911 
Gilbert  G.  Southworth,  Dec.  18,  1911 
John  A.  Stitt,  Feb.  2,  1914 

CAPTAINS  OF  FIFTH  COMPANY 
Alpheus  J.  Hillbourn,  Sept.  15,  i863~'64 
John  Q.  Adams,  i864-'67 


Genealogy  169 

John  Perry,  i86;-'69 

James  P.  Wade,  1869-71 

Stephen  W.  Wheeler,  1871-^5 

Henry  Wilson,  Jr.,  1875-' '79 

George  W.  White,  1879^80 

Charles  J.  Foye,  i88i-'8s 

Henry  W.  Atkins,  July  22,  '85 — Apr.  10,  '92 

Chester  M.  Flanders,  i892-'94 

John  R.  Smith,  May  14,  1894- 

Walter  L.  Pratt,  Dec.  16,  1895 

William  Renfew,  1907,  Apr.  29 — 1915 

Fred  R.  Robinson,  Apr.  24,  1916 

CAPTAINS  OF  SIXTH  COMPANY 
William  Harris,  July  30,  1810 
Jonathan  Thaxter,  Oct.  9,  '13 — Apr.  24,  '19 
Francis  Tufts,  May  4,  1819 — Jan.  23,  '21 
John  A.  Shaw,  May  I,  1821 — Feb.  2,  '22 
Francis  Jackson,  Apr.  15,  1822 — Apr.  9,  '24 
Jedediah  Turtle,  May  4,  1824 — Mch.  31,  '25 
Samuel  Lynes,  May  3,  1825- 
Thomas  White,  Sept.  18,  1826— Feb.  i,  '28 
Charles  Hersey,  May  6,  1828 — Apr.  19,  '30 
Thomas  Goodwin,  May  25,  1830 — June  25,  '32 
John  Wilson,  July  25,  '32 — Oct.  16,  '33 
Jabez  Pratt,  Nov.  22,  1833 — Dec.  10,  '34 
Samuel  D.  Steele,  Dec.  26,  1834— Sept.  9,  '36 
Daniel  Cragin,  Sept.  21,  1836 — Feb.  19,  '40 
Ephraim  B.  Richards,  Mch.  12,  1840 — May  8,  '44 
Isaiah  R.  Johnson,  Aug.  i,  1844 — Dec.  26,  '44 
Danforth  White,  Jan.  31,  1845 — Nov.  19,  '46 
Caleb  Page,  Jan.  6,  1847 — Jan-  4»  '5° 
Jerome  B.  Piper,  Feb.  5,  '50— Feb.  13,  '51 


170  The  Old  First 


William  W.  Bullock,  Mch.  25,  1851— Mch.  29,  '54 

John  B.  Whorf,  May  10,  1854- 

Joseph  N.  Pennock,  July  2,  1856- 

Walter  Scott  Sampson,  Mch.  12,  1859— July,  1861 

Daniel  G.  Handy,  Nov.  i,  1864— Nov.  6,  '65 

James  H.  Baldwin,  i86>'66 

Riley  W.  Kenyon,  i866-'68 

Walter  Scott  Sampson,  i868-'69 

George  H.  Drew,  i869~'74 

Harry  J.  Jaquith,  May  to  Oct.,  1874 

Levi  Hawkes,  1 874^79 

William  E.  Lloyd,  i879~'8i 

Albert  F.  Fessenden,  i88i-'83 

William  L.  Fox,  i883-'84 

Harrison  G.  Wells,  i884-'8s 

Frank  W.  Dallinger,  i885~'92 

Walter  E.  Lombard,  Jan.  23,  1893 — Jan.  23,  1906 

Marshall  Underwood,  1906 

Benjamin  B.  Shedd,  June  17,  '07 — Feb.  3,  'n 

Herbert  E.  Lombard,  1911 

Alonzo  F.  Woodside,  June  12,  'H — 

Henry  S.  Gushing,  Feb.  10,  1913 

CAPTAINS  OF  SEVENTH  COMPANY 
Henry  J.  Hallgreen,  Apr.  3,  1865-69 
John  W.  W.  Marjoram,  i869~'74 
Theodore  L.  Harlow,  1 874^75 
Horace  B.  Clapp,  i875-'77 
William  Downie, 
Horace  B.  Clapp, 

Louis  H.  Parkhurst,  Jan.  18,  1879 — Sept.,  1879 
Samuel  R.  Field,  1879-^82 
Charles  L.  Hovey,  1882^84 


Genealogy  171 


J.  Marion  Moulton,  1884^87 

Perlie  A.  Dyar,  1887^91 

A.  Glendon  Dyar,  1891 -'92 

Henry  W.  Atkins,  Apr.  n,  1892 — Feb.  19,  '95 

Charles  P.  Nutter,  Mch.  n,  1895 — July  14,  '99 

Charles  F.  Nostrom,  Oct.  16,  1899— Mch.  15,  '06 

Arthur  E.  Hall,  1906 

George  M.  King,  Dec.  12,  1910 — Feb.  9,  '15 

Arthur  W.  Burton,  Feb.  17,  1915 

CAPTAINS  OF  EIGHTH  COMPANY 

George  O.  Fillebrown,  1 865-^67 

William  H.  Hutchinson,  i86>'68 

Nathaniel  H.  Kemp,  i868-'7i 

George  F.  Woodman,  1871 -'72 

Nathaniel  H.  Kemp,  1872^75 

A.  Spaulding  Weld,  1876-^80 

William  J.  Cambridge,  1880*81 

John  B.  McKay,  1881-^84 

William  W.  Kellett,  1884-^85 

Frank  H.  Briggs,  1885^90 

Charles  Pfaff,  Feb.  12,  1890— May  18,  '93 

John  P.  Nowell,  June  21,  1893- 

John  Bordman,  Jr.,  Jan.  27,  1896 — July  22,  1899 

E.  Dwight  Fullerton,  Oct.  18,  1899— Nov.  17,  '02 

James  H.  Smyth,  Nov.  12,  1902 — '09 

Olin  D.  Dickerman,  May  26,  1909 — '14 

Horace  J.  Baum,  Jan.  13,  1915 

CAPTAINS  OF  NINTH  COMPANY 

William  J.  Briggs,  Nov.  21,  1865 — Nov.  25,  '67 
William  Watts,  Dec.  13,  1867— Dec.  5,  '70 


172  The  Old  First 


David  B.  Lincoln,  Jan.  2,  1871 — Dec.  24,  '72 
Alfred  B.  Hodges,  Jan.  13,  1873— Dec.  30,  '78 
Henry  C.  Spence,  Jan.  20,  1879 — Jan.  15,  '80 
George  F.  Williams,  2d,  Jan.  26 — May  27,  1880 
Alden  H.  Blake,  June  7,  1880— Apr.  6,  '83 
William  C.  Perry,  Mch.  3,  1884— Jan.  4,  '86 
George  A.  King,  Jan.  n,  1886 — Apr.  15,  '89 
Norris  O.  Danforth,  Sept.  16,  1889— Jan.  23,  '06 
Alonzo  K.  Crowell,  Feb.  12,  1906 — Jan.  13,  '14 
Frank  A.  D.  Bullard,  Jan.  26,  1914 


CAPTAINS  OF  TENTH  COMPANY 


Samuel  B.  Hinckley,  Sept.  20, 

Bradford  Morse,  i877-'8i 

James  N.  Keith,  1881-^84 

Nathan  E.  Leach,  i884-'88 

Charles  Williamson,  Mch.  19,  1888—  July  26,  '99 

George  E.  Horton,  Aug.  18,  1899 


CAPTAINS  OF  ELEVENTH  COMPANY 


Charles  G.  Burgess,  July  19, 
Henry  A.  Thomas, 
Henry  Parkinson,  Jr., 
George  E.  Harrington,  i883-'84 
Henry  Carstensen,  1884-^88 
Edward  G.  Tutein,  i888-'9i 
Fred  M.  Whiting,  Apr.  15,  1891 
James  H.  Smyth,  Apr.  9,  1913  —  '14 
William  D.  Cottam,  Mch.  n,  1914 


Genealogy  173 


CAPTAINS  OF  TWELFTH  COMPANY 

Sierra  L.  Braley,  Dec.  18,  1878— '99 

David  Fuller,  Feb.  14,  1899-1909 

Frederick  W.  Harrison,  1910-'!! 

Harry  A.  Skinner,  Apr.  23,  1912 — May  26,  '16 

Thomas  J.  Clifford,  June  6,  1916 


APPENDIX   II     - 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

History  of  the  First  Regiment,  by  Warren  H.  Cudworth. 

Boston:  Walker,  Fuller  &  Co.,  1866. 
The  ist  Regiment  Infantry  M.  V.  M.,  1861,  by  L.  Edward 

Jenkins. 

Boston:  By  the  Commonwealth,  1903. 
Memorial  Service,  The  Honored  Dead  of  the  First  Regi- 
ment, 1911. 

Gen.  Cowdin  and  the  ist  Mass.  Reg. 
Boston :  J.  E.  Farwell  &  Co.,  1864. 
The  Hero  of  Medfield,  Allen  A.  Kingsbury  (in  action  July, 

'6 1,  killed  at  Yorktown,  Apr.  26,  '62). 
Boston:  1862. 

Boston  Evening  Journal,  i86i-'65. 
The  Bivouac  (files). 
The  Third  Mass.  Reg.  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  by  John 

G.  Gammons. 
Providence:  1906. 
Massachusetts  Minute  Men  of  '61,  by  Charles  C.  Doten  and 

others. 

Boston :  Smith  &  McCance,  1910. 
The  Story  of  the  I3th  Mass.  Vols.,  by  Charles  E.  Davis,  Jr. 

Boston:  Estes  &  Lauriat,  1894. 

Letters  from  Two  Brothers  (Freeman,  Warren  H.  &  Eu- 
gene H.). 
Cambridge:  1871. 

Circular — Address  of  Gen.  J.  A.  Beaver,  Boston,  Nov.  21, 
i! 


Bibliography  175 


Circular — Services  of   Gen.   George  L.   Hartsuff,  Dec.  4, 

1889. 

Circular — Regiment's  Departure  from  Boston,  Dec.  4,  1890. 
Circular — Regiment's  Services  July  29,  '61 — Mch.   I,  '62, 

Mch.  i,  1892. 
The  Twenty-Fourth  Regiment,  by  Alfred  S.  Roe. 

Worcester :  24th  Vet.  Assn.,  1907. 
Gen.  Thomas  Greely  Stevenson — Biographical  Memoir. 
History  of  the  Forty-second  Regiment,  by  Charles  P.  Bos- 
son. 

Boston:  1886. 

Reminiscences  of  Military  Service  in  the  Forty-third  Regi- 
ment, by  Edward  H.  Rogers. 
Boston :  Rand,  Avery  &  Co.,  1883. 
Sermon  Preached  before  the  Officers  of  the  43d  Regiment, 

Boston,  Oct.  5,  1862,  by  Jacob  M.  Manning. 
Boston:  1862. 
Record  of  the  44th  Mass. 

Boston :  privately  printed  1887. 
Bay  State  44th,  by  DeForest  Safford, 

Boston:  1863. 
Letters  from  the  44th  Reg.  M.  V.  M.,  by  Zenos  T.  Haines. 

Boston :  Herald  office,  1863. 

The  First  Regiment  Massachusetts  Heavy  Artillery,  U.  S. 
V.,  in  the  Spanish-American  War  of  1898,  by  James  A. 
Frye. 

Boston :  The  Colonial  Co.,  1899. 
The  First  Heavies,  by  Charles  F.  W.  Archer. 

New  England  Home  Magazine,  April  24,  1898. 
A  Memorial  of  Rev.  Warren  H.  Cudworth,  by  his  sister. 

Boston:  D.  Lothrop  &  Co.,  1884. 
A  Little  Fifer's  War  Diary,  by  C.  W.  Bardeen. 
Syracuse,  N.  Y. :  1910. 


176  The  Old  First 


My  First  and  Last  Fights,  by  Leverett  D.  Holden. 

Maiden,  Mass. :  Samuel  Tilden,  1914. 

Regiments  and  Armories  of  Massachusetts,  by  James  A. 
Frye  and  others.    Two  volumes. 

Boston:  W.  W.  Potter  Co.,  1899,  1901. 
Memorial  History  of  Boston,  Vol.  Ill,  Chap.  IV,  by  Francis 
W.  Palfrey. 

Boston:  James  R.  Osgood  &  Co.,  1881. 
From  Headquarters,  by  James  A.  Frye. 

Boston :  The  Colonial  Co. 
Fables  of  Field  and  Staff,  by  James  A.  Frye. 

Boston :  The  Colonial  Co. 


ist  Company. 

In  Vol.  2  of  Mass.  Regiments  and  Armories. 
The  Town  of  Roxbury,  by  Francis  S.  Drake,  page  109. 

Boston  Municipal,  1905. 
By-Laws  and  Articles  of  Agreement  of  Co.  D,  ist  Regt 

of  Infantry,  Feb.  8,  1880. 
Boston :  Press  of  Rockwell  &  Churchill,  1880. 

2d  Company. 

Boston  Lt.  Inf.  Constitution,  May,  1798,  revised  and  rati- 
fied Jan.,  1803. 
Constitution  of  the  Boston  Lt.  Inf.,  Adopted  1831. 

Boston :  J.  T.  Buckingham,  1835. 
Constitution  and  By-Laws  of  the  Boston  Lt.  Inf.,  1853. 

Boston :  Sleeper  &  Rogers,  1853. 
Constitution  and  By-Laws  of  the  Boston  Lt.  Inf.,  1857. 

Boston:  Charles  H.  Crosby,  1857. 
Historical  Sketch  and  By-Laws  of  the  2d  Co.,  C.  A.  C. 

Boston:  1917. 


Bibliography  177 


3d  Company. 

Constitution  of  the  Independent  Boston  Fusiliers. 

Boston:  1829. 
Constitution  and  By-Laws  of  the  Independent  Boston 

Fusiliers. 

Boston:  Charles  H.  Crosby,  Printer,  1864. 
Constitution  and  By-Laws  of  the  Fusilier  Veteran  Asso- 
ciation. 
Boston:  1894. 
Id.  1903. 

Constitution,  By-Laws  and  Roster,  1913. 
A  Historical  Sketch  Fusilier  Veteran  Association,  1914. 
Constitution,  By-Laws  and  Roster,  1916. 

4th  Company. 

Pulaski  Guards,  Rules  and  Regulations,  Co.  E,  2d  Reg. 

Boston :  Wright  &  Potter,  1862. 
Correspondence  in  Relation  to  Albert  A.  Farnham,  Co.  E. 

Boston:  Alfred  Mudge  &  Son,  1864. 
The  Whalemen's  Quickstep,  composed  by  L.  S.  Knaebel 

(dedicated  to  old  New  Bedford  City  Guards). 
Boston :  Henry  Prentiss,  1842. 

5th  Company. 
The  Battle  of  Blackburn's  Ford  and  First  Bull's  Run,  by 

James  R.  Gerrish. 
Boston:  1861. 
Dedication  of  Armory,  Plymouth,  Dec.  21,  1906,  by  Wm. 

T.  Davis. 
Plymouth. 

6th  Company. 

Constitution  of  Columbian  Artillery. 
Boston:  1827. 


178  The  Old  First 


The  Grand  Parada  (containing  historical  sketch  of  Bat- 
tery B  in  the  Spanish-American  War,  by  Walter  E. 
Lombard). 
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7th  Company. 

Mass.  Militia,  ist  Reg.  Inf.,  Co.  C,  Claflin  Guards,  New- 
ton. 

9th  Company. 

Historical  Review  and  Roster. 

Taunton,  Mass. :  1916. 
Dedication  State  Armory,  Taunton,  Mass.,  Jan.  26,  1917. 

1 2th  Company. 

Historical  Review  and  Roster. 
Fall  River,  Mass. :  1915. 

The  "Tiger"  First  Regiment. 

Constitution  of  New  England  Guards. 

Boston:  Stebbins,  1813. 
Constitution  of  New  England  Guards.  ,, 

Boston:  Mudge,  1858. 
Semi-Centennial  Anniversary  of  New  England  Guards. 

Boston:  Marvin,  1863. 

New  England  Guards,   Bostonian  Society   Publications, 
Vol.  4,  by  James  B.  Gardner. 

1907. 
Constitution  of  the  City  Guards. 

Boston :  Button  &  Wentworth,  1829. 
Constitution  of  the  Columbian  Greys  (late  City  Guards). 

Boston:  Beals  &  Greene,  1842. 

Pavilion  Quickstep,   composed  by  Archer  H.   Townley 
(for  Lt.  R.  M.  LeFavor,  Boston  City  Greys). 

Boston:  1844. 


INDEX 


Adams,  John,  21,  23. 

Adams,  John  Q.,  27,  35. 

Adams,  Thomas,  9,  89. 

Albany,  Fort,  62. 

Alexandria,  55. 

Allen,  Nathaniel  M.,  72. 

Ancient  &  Honorable  Artillery  Company, 

15,  26,  42,  61,  63,  72,  74,  92,  100. 
Anderson's  Plantation,  74. 
Andrews,  Fort,  143. 
Armory,  6,  7,  8,  18,  91,  133. 
Arthur,  Chester  A.,  130. 
Artillery,  4,  13,  18,  19,  32,  35,  40,  57,  62, 

73,  132.  134,  135,  141. 

Baldwin,  Clark  B.,  44,  48,  60,  68,  71,  72. 

Band,  14,  23,  67,  104,  109,  131. 

Bardeen,  Charles  W.,  68,  78. 

Battle-flags,  6,  7,  8,  52,  55,  57,  107,  141. 

Blackburn's  Ford,  9,  61. 

Bladensburg,  62,  76. 

Bowdoin,  James,  10,  89. 

Budd's  Ferry,  63,  64,  77. 

Bull  Run,  9,  47,  50,  61,  82,  106. 

Burrell,  Isaac  S.,  37,  43,  50,  51,  52,  53, 

54,  56,  59,  80,  81. 
Butler,  Benjamin  F.,  46,  82,  121. 

Cadets,  First  Corps,  64,  72,  90,  135. 

Camp,  first,  35. 

Cass,   Thomas,  40. 

Chancellorsville,  7,  60,  67,  69,  70,  71,  72, 

74,  77. 
Chantilly,  63. 

Chaplain,  3,  4,  75,  76,  77,  78,  131. 

Church  of  First  Regiment,  78. 

Clark,  James  F.,  8. 

Colonel,  first,  28,  29,  34,  95,  114. 

Company  letters,  10. 

Compulsory  service,  14,  27,  72,  151 

Constitution,  Fort,  139,  140. 

Cowdin,  Robert,  36,  37,  39,  41,  42,  43, 

45,  47,  48,  49,  50,  57,  60,  63,  68,  74, 

77,  80,  101,  109. 
Cudworth,  Warren  H.,  75,  76,  77,  78,  79. 

Disbandment  of  1838,  97. 

Distances,   75. 

Doherty,  James,  72. 

Drill  regulations,  18,  28,  43,  44,  94. 


Eighth  Company,  13,  18,  34,  41,  48,  52, 
55,  59,  60,  64,  81,  127,  135,  136,  139, 
143,  147. 

Eleventh  Company,  111,  127,  136,  143. 

Emancipation.  77,  116,  121. 

Fair  Oaks,  63,  66. 

Fifth  Company,  37,  40,  42,  51,  52,  54, 
55,  57,  59,  60,  62,  64,  81,  87,  95,  97, 
98,  102,  107,  114,  117,  122,  125,  127, 
130,  136,  139,  143,  144,  146. 


Fillmore,   Millard,  38,  99. 

Fires,  83,  93,  110,  133,  134,  143,  146,  153. 

First  Company.  8,  12,  13,  18,  19,  22,  26, 

34,  37,  49,  51,  55,  56,  60,  80,  84,  98, 

127,  136,  139,  143,  153,  155. 
Fourth  Company,  16,  22,  34,  37,  42,  49, 

51,  55,  57,  59,  60,  72,  81,  85,  102,  115, 

116,   122,   127,   136,   143,   145,   153. 
Fredericksburg,  7,  61,  67,  68,  69,  77. 

Galveston,  53. 

Garfield,   James  A.,   129. 

Gettysburg,  7,  49,  70,  71,  72. 

Gilmore,  Patrick,  S.,  104,  109,  131. 

Glendale,  60,  63. 

Goldsboro,  108,   124. 

Gragg,  Isaac  P.,  62,  147. 

Grant,  U.  S.,  73,  74,  82,  85,   130,  132. 

Greble,  Fort,  140. 

Hancock,  John,  8,  10,  20,  89. 
Harrison,  William  H.,  31. 
Holbrook,  Charles  L.,  39,  100,  105. 
Hooker,  Joseph,  62,  69,  141,  147. 

Inauguration,  5,  144,  146. 
Independence,  Fort,  25,  49,  104. 
Inspector  Instructor,  134,  145. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  27,  95. 
Jackson,   Thomas  J.    ("Stonewall"),   69. 
John  Brown's  Body,  105,  108,  156. 
Johnson,  Andrew,  82,  96. 

Kinston,  108,  124. 

Lafayette,  General,  13,  15,  27. 

Legion,  21,  91,  92,  102. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  46. 

Lincoln,  Benjamin,  17,  18. 

Lombard,  Walter  E.,  74,  110,  136,  145. 

Losses,  58,  71,  75. 

McClary,   Fort,    139. 

McClellan,  George  B.,  64,  66,  76. 

McKinley,  Fort,  141. 

McLoughlin,  Napoleon  B.,  68. 

Madison,  James,  26. 

March  of  the  First,  3,  131,  136,  156. 

Monroe,    Fort,    108,    117,    118,    119,    121, 

122. 
Motto,  13,  56,  89,  90,  107,  154. 

Ninth  Company.  37,  40,  51,  55,  59,  60, 
81,  100,  101,  103,  124,  125,  127,  136, 
143. 

Norfolk,  120. 

Peninsula,  31,  36,  44,  60,  61,  63,  67,  76, 

122. 

Pfaff,  Charles,  135,  136,  139,  140,  141. 
Pickering,  Fort,  139. 


i8o 


Index 


Polk,  James  K..  35. 
Poore,  Ben  Perley,  99,  100. 
Privileges,  19. 

Richmond,  Silas  P.,  116,  118,  123. 

Rifle  practice,  84,  94. 

Riot,  30,  38,  39,  41,  82,  93,  100,  110,  125, 

132,  143,  146,  153.  156. 
Rodman,  Fort,  57.  138,  140. 
Roosevelt,  Theodore,   144. 

Sampson,  Walter  S..  44,  109. 

Savage's  Station,  66. 

Scott,  Winfield,  7. 

Second  Company,  9,  21,  42,   51.   54,   55, 

59.    60,    80,    90,   94,    95,   97,    100.    102, 

105,  106,  108,  127,  133,  136,  139,  143, 

151,  153,  155. 
Seven  Pines,  63,  65. 
Seventh  Company.  9,  23,  34.  41,  47,  49, 

50,  55,  59,  60,  81,  82,  87,  110,  127,  136, 

139,   143,   155. 
Sewall,  Fort,  139. 
Shays,  Daniel,  17, 
Sheridan,  Philip  H.,  82.  131. 
Sherman.  William  T.,   86. 
Sickles.  Daniel  E.,  69,  71. 
Sixth  Company.   22,   34,   40,   44,   51,   54. 

55,  60.  81,  101,  109,  110,  127,  132.  136, 

139.  143,  145.  150. 
Soul  of  the  Soldiery.  23,  92. 
Spooner,  John  Jones,  8,  12. 
Spotsylvania,  7,  60,  63,  67,  73,  104. 
Stage  Fort,  139. 
Stevenson,  Thomas  G.,  104. 
Strong,  Fort,  25,  93,  143. 


Taft,  William  H.,  144. 

Taylor,  Zachery,  37. 

Tenth  Company,  52,  55,  60,  64,  72,  81, 

87,  125,  127,  136,  143. 
Third  Company,  9,  21,  37,  42,  51,  53,  54, 

55,  60,  80,  87,  89,  90,  93,  97,  98,  99, 

100,  102,  116,  122,  124,  127,   130,  136, 

143,  153,  155. 
Thompson,  Asa,  112. 
Train-band,  14,    21,    26.   30,  92,  98,  112, 

113. 

Twelfth  Company,  85,  127,  136,  143,  145. 
Tyler,  John.  32,  65. 

Uniform,   18,  27,  33,  36,  37,  61.  82,  90. 
95,  111,  118,  128,  135,  140,  143. 

Veterans,  154. 

Wardrop,  David  W.,  110,  116.  117. 
Warren,  Fort.  25,  105,  108,  132,  134,  137. 

138.  143,  154. 
Washington,    George,    9,    20,    21,    64,    65, 

77,  90. 

Wayne,  Anthony,  64. 
Webster,  Daniel,  32,  35,  38,   113,    130. 
Webster,  Col.  Fletcher,   106. 
Wellington,  Austin  C.,  110.  129,  132. 
Whitehall,  108,  124. 
Wilderness,  67.  70.  73. 
Williamsburg,  9.  63,  65,  77. 
Wilson,  Henry.  46,  86. 
Wilson.    Woodrow,    146. 
Wool,  Gen.  John  E.,  43,  117. 

Yorktown,  9,  63,  64.  76. 


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